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MAKERS  OF  THE  BIBLE 


MAKERS  OF  THE  BIBLE 


AND  '* 


THEIR  LITERARY  METHODS 


By  ^ 
HERMON  H.  SEVERN 

PROFESSOR  OF  GREEK  AND  BIBLICAL  LITERATURE 
IN  KAI^MAZOO  COLLEGE 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE    JUDSON    PRESS 

BOSTON  CHICAGO  ST.  LOUIS  LOS  ANGELES 

KANSAS  CITY  SEATTLE  TORONTO 


Copyright,  1921,  by 
GILBERT  N.  BRINK,  Secretary 


Published  February,  1922 


Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


2^0 


PREFACE 

This  little  manual  is  intended  for  young  people  and 
others  who  may  desire  some  information  from  the  modern 
point  of  view  about  the  processes  through  which  the  Bible 
has  come  down  to  us  today.  The  author  hopes  by  it  to 
help  his  readers  to  an  intelligent  comprehension  of  how 
the  Bible  has  come  to  be  what  it  is  and  so  to  a  sound 
basis  for  faith  in  the  Book  of  Life.  The  work  has  grown 
out  of  experience  in  college  classroom  and  teacher-train- 
ing classes  in  church  and  Sunday  school.  It  is  designed 
to  serve  two  purposes :  ( 1 )  The  book  may  be  used  as  a 
guide  for  independent  study.  Those  who  so  use  it  will 
work  through  the  outlines  by  means  of  the  references  and 
some  of  the  briefer  articles  listed  before  reading  the  dis- 
cussions in  the  following  chapters.  For  this  study  a  copy 
of  the  American  Standard  Version  (with  references) 
should  be  used,  as  the  marginal  notes  and  variations  in 
this  edition  of  the  Bible  are  of  great  value.  (2)  The 
book  may  be  read  as  a  narrative,  without  regard  to  the 
study  outlines  and  helps,  and  so  become  simply  a  brief 
story  of  the  making  of  our  Bible. 

Feeling  that  people  at  large  are  entitled  to  any  evidence 
that  bears  on  the  problem  of  the  Bible  the  author  has 
ventured  to  include  in  an  appendix  a  few  brief  selections 


Preface 

from  various  important  materials  that  have  to  do  with 

the  subject.    In  the  selections  from  the  Septuagint  he  has 

endeavored  to  make  the  translation,  even  at  the  expense 

of  elegance  and  English  idiom,  reflect  as  far  as  possible 

not  only  the  flavor  of  the  Greek  itself  but  also  the  value 

of  the  version  as  a  source  of  information  about  the  Bible. 

Grateful  acknowledgment  is  here  made  of  a  manifest 

indebtedness  to  the  many  scholars  who  have  worked  in 

this  field.    But  especially  does  the  author  desire  to  record 

the  debt  he  owes  to  his  teachers,  Professors  Burton  and 

Goodspeed,  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  not  only  for  the 

inspiration  of  the  classroom  in  earlier  days,  but  also  for 

personal  interest   in,   and  definite   suggestions  for,  the 

present  work.    To  President  Stetson,  of  this  College,  also, 

is  a  special  debt  of  thanks  due  for  his  great  kindness  in 

reading  the  manuscript  and  for  help  all  the  way  along. 

Likewise  to  Rev.  Daniel  G.  Stevens,  Ph.  D.,  Book  Editor 

of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  the  author 

is  indebted  for  much  more  than  a  professional  interest  in 

the  work.    He  has  not  only  spared  no  pains  to  give  the 

book  an  attractive  form,  but  has  helped  with  constructive 

suggestions  at  many  points. 

Hermon  H.  Severn. 

Kalamazoo  College,  January  3,  1922. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  What  is  the  Bible?    The  Problem 1 

II.  Pre-Biblical  Writers:  The  Lost  Books..  12 

III.  The  Writers  of  the  Bible 28 

IV.  Early  Readers  of  the  Bible 43 

V.  Early  Translators  :  The  Seventy 56 

VI.  Early  Translators  :  Jerome 70 

VII.  The  Copyists:  Bases  of  the  Text 79 

VIII.  Need  of  a  Text  :  Materials  for  Making  It  90 

IX.  Constructing  the  Text 103 

X.  Understanding  the  Bible 115 

XL  The  Underlying  Character  of  the  Bible  126 

Appendix 135 

Index  157 


MAKERS  OF  THE  BIBLE 


WHAT  IS  THE  BIBLE?    THE  PROBLEM 

Study  Outline 

L  Study  the  titles  of  the  Biblical  books,  and  ask  your- 
self whether  they  emphasize  the  unity  of  the  Bible  or  its 
diversity. 

2.  Examine  the  different  kinds  of  literature  in  the 
Bible  and  classify  them  into  history,  poetry,  prophecy, 
etc.  What  is  your  impression  of  the  Bible  as  to  the 
unity  or  diversity  of  its  writings? 

3.  Read  some  encyclopedia  or  Bible  dictionary  articles 
on  the  languages  of  the  Bible,  and  ask  yourself  whether 
the  diversity  of  the  Scriptures  suggested  above  extends 
to  its  languages. 

4.  Study  carefully  such  passages  as  1  Samuel  15  :  3 
and  19  :  9 ;  1  Kings  22 ;  Matthew  6  :  9  and  14 ;  Luke 
15  :  11-32;  Hebrews  12  :  7,  and  state  whether  the  Bible 
seems  diverse  to  you  in  its  ethical  standards. 

5.  Look  up  in  any  good  encyclopedia  the  history  of 
the  v/ord  Bible,  and  state  what  light  it  sheds  on  the 
character  of  the  Bible  as  a  collection  of  books. 

Scripture  References  and  Helps 

Judges  5;  2  Peter  3  :  15f.;  Daniel  2  :  4  to  7  :  28;  9  : 
2;  Ezra  4  :  8  to  6  :  18;  Jeremiah  10  :  11;  Isaiah  7  : 

1 


Maimers  of  the  Bible 


14;  Matthew  1  :  1,  23;  6  :  8,  9,  14;  7  :  11;  1  Samuel 
15  :  3;  19  :  9;  2  Samuel  6  :  6  (marg.),  7;  1  Kings  22 
John  17  :  3;  Romans  2:2,  6;  2  Timothy  4:8,   14 
Hebrews    12  :  7,  23;  Acts    17  :  28;   Luke    15  :  11-32 
Mark  10  :  18;  2  Corinthians  4  :  7. 

Prologue  to  Ecclesiasticus ;  1  Maccabees  1  :  56 ;  12  :  9 ; 
2  Epistle  of  Clement  14  :  2. 

Hastings,  "Dictionary  of  Bible"  (1  vol.  ed.),  art. 
"Acrostic,"  p.  7;  art.  "  Bible,"  §1,  p.  95;  §§3,  4,  pp.  96, 
97;  art.  **  Text,  Versions,  Languages  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment," §§1-6,  pp.  908,  909,  and  §40,  pp.  915f.;  art. 
"  God,"  pp.  299-303. 

"Standard  Bible  Dictionary,"  art.  "Bible,"  §§1-4,  pp. 
98-100;  art.  "Hebrew  Language,"  pp.  324-326;  art. 
"  Poetry,"  pp.  682-684. 

Nelson's  "  Encyclopedia,"  art.  "  Bible,"  "  Canon  of  Old 
Testament,"  pp.  68f. ;  and  "  The  New  Testament,"  p.  70. 

Moulton  and  Others,  "  The  Bible  as  Literature,"  Intro., 
pp.  ix-xviii;  and  I,  pp.  3-11. 

Wood  and  Grant,  "  The  Bible  as  Literature,"  Intro., 
pp.  13-17. 

What  is  the  Bible?  Is  it  a  single  book  or  a  collection 
of  books?  Or,  is  it  many  in  one,  a  collection  of  books 
which  has  so  impressed  our  English-speaking  world  with 
its  singleness  of  purpose  as  to  have  won  recognition  as 
a  unit?  It  may,  perhaps,  be  admitted  that  for  English 
literature  the  Bible  is  a  single  book,^  but  when  we  enter 
upon  the  historical  study  of  the  Scriptures,  the  individ- 
uality of  the  different  writings  attracts  and  holds  the 
attention.    The  titles  of  the  books,  in  themselves  a  mark 

*  Gardiner,  "  The  Bible  as  Literature,"  New  York,  1910,  p.  2. 


What  is  the  Bible  f    The  Problem 


of  diversity,  suggest  the  variety  of  books  included  in 
the  vokime.  Some  designate  the  author,  as  "  According 
to  Luke,"  "  The  Book  of  Ezekiel  " ;  others  name  the  hero 
or  heroine,  "  The  Book  of  Ruth,"  "  The  Book  of  Daniel  " ; 
still  others  seem  to  be  indicative  of  the  character  of  the 
book,  as  "The  First  Book  of  the  Chronicles,"  "The 
Acts."  So  one  might  continue  with  the  rest  of  the  titles 
and  deepen  a  superficial  impression  of  the  diversity  of 
the  Biblical  writings. 

And  this  first  impression  of  variety  in  the  books  of  the 
Bible  is  confirmed  by  examination  of  the  different  types 
of  literature  found  in  the  Scriptures.  The  usual  classi- 
fication of  these  Biblical  books  into  history,  poetry, 
prophecy,  and  epistles  has  served  to  popularize  some- 
what the  designation  of  the  Bible  as  the  Library  of  Sixty- 
six  Books.  Yet  it  is  only  within  comparatively  recent 
years  that  we  have  come  to  anything  like  an  adequate 
appreciation  of  the  immense  variety  of  the  different  parts 
of  this  unique  literature.  There  are  proverbs,  psalms, 
chronicles.  We  find  sermons,  such  as  the  messages  of 
Isaiah  in  the  Old  Testament  and  the  book  of  James  in  the 
New.  Biographies  like  the  Books  of  Samuel  and  the 
Gospels,  soaring  visions  like  Daniel  and  Revelation,  and 
the  impassioned  arguments  of  a  Paul  in  Romans  are  all 
present.  In  fact,  so  diverse  are  the  books  of  the  Bible 
in  character  as  to  defy  grouping  according  to  the  recog- 
nized canons  of  literary  classification.^  In  the  New  Tes- 
tament the  book  of  Hebrews  does  not  sound  just  like  a 
letter,  much  of  the  prophecy  of  the  Old  Testament  is 
poetic  in  form,  and  large  sections  of  the  so-called  his- 
torical books  are  laws  rather  than  histories.  The  truth 
of  the  matter  seems  to  be  that  this  Biblical  literature  is 

2  Barton,  "Biblical  World,"  April,  1914,  pp.  251-257, 


Makers  of  the  Bible 


a  composite  of  materials  of  different  kinds  from  widely 
separated  periods  woven  together  into  its  present  form. 

And  this  diversity  of  the  Bible  extends  to  the  lan- 
guages in  which  it  was  originally  written  and  the  period 
of  its  composition.  The  earliest  materials  embodied  in 
the  Old  Testament  reach  back  to  the  time  of  Israel's 
emergence  from  the  nomadic  stage  of  life.  For  instance, 
the  Song  of  Deborah  (Judg.  5)  is  generally  regarded  by 
scholars  as  one  of  the  very  earliest  examples  of  Hebrew 
poetry.  It  is  a  real  triumph-song,  celebrating  the  great 
victory  of  the  Israelites  over  the  Canaanites.  And  in 
the  New  Testament  the  latest  books  extend  down  to  the 
end  of  the  first  century  A.  D.,  if  not  to  the  middle  of  the 
second  century.  Second  Peter  seems  to  look  back  upon 
Paul  as  belonging  to  an  earlier  period  of  the  church,  far 
enough  back  to  allow  time  for  the  making  of  a  collection 
of  Paul's  letters  which  has  been  raised  by  the  time  of  the 
writer  of  Second  Peter  to  the  level  of  the  other  Scrip- 
tures. (2  Peter  3  :  15f.)  But  taking  the  shortest  interval 
for  the  production  of  the  Biblical  writings,  we  get  at 
least  a  millennium,  more  nearly  a  period  of  twelve  or 
thirteen  hundred  years. 

And  the  original  languages  of  the  Bible  too  are  quite 
sharply  distinguished.  The  Old  Testament  is  written 
in  Hebrew,  except  some  small  portions  in  Aramaic,  like 
Daniel  2  :  4  to  7  :  28,  where  the  new  langitage  is  intro- 
duced by  the  phrase,  "in  the  Syrian  language"  (marg., 
"  Or,  in  Aramaic  ") ;  Ezra  4  :  8  to  6  :  18,  and  Jer.  10  : 
11.  The  language  of  the  New  Testament  is  Greek,  for 
the  most  part  the  thought-vehicle  of  the  common  people 
of  the  day,  not  the  literary  usage  of  a  few  cultured  writers. 
And  of  course  this  Greek  of  the  New  Testament  differs 
from  the  Hebrew  of  the  Old  Testament  both  in  vocabu- 


What  is  the  Bible  f    The  Problem 


( 


lary  and  sentence  structure.  Furthermore,  this  diversity 
of  languages  in  the  Bible  extends  for  us  to  the  English 
tongue.  We  face  the  difficulties  of  a  translation.  Trans- 
lators generally  feel  these  and,  like  the  Greek  translator 
of  the  Aramaic  Wisdom  of  Sirach,  otherwise  known 
as  Ecclesiasticus,  ask  the  indulgence  of  their  readers  for 
failure  to  do  full  justice  to  the  phrases  of  the  original. 
"  Things  originally  spoken  in  Hebrew  have  not  the  same 
force  in  them,  when  they  are  translated  into  another 
tongue"  (Prologue,  Ecclesiasticus).  The  translators  of 
the  King  James  Version  also  recognized  the  same  fact : 

There  be  many  words  in  the  Scriptures,  which  be  neuer  found 
there  but  once  (hauing  neither  brother  nor  neighbour,  as  the 
Hebrewes  speake)  so  that  we  cannot  be  holpen  by  conference  of 
places.  Againe,  there  be  many  rare  names  of  certaine  birds, 
beastes,  and  precious  stones,  &c.,  concerning  which  the  Hebrewes 
themselues  are  so  diuided  among  themselues  for  iudgment,  that 
they  may  seeme  to  haue  defined  this  or  that,  rather  because  they 
would  say  something,  the  because  they  were  sure  of  that  which 
they  said.' 

Sometimes  the  difficulty  of  finding  an  adequate  render- 
ing for  an  original  word  has  led  translators  into  errors 
which  have  proved  momentous.  Such  an  instance,  ap- 
parently, is  to  be  found  in  the  term  translated  "  virgin  " 
in  Isaiah  7  :  14.  The  Septuagint  translators  failed  to 
catch  tTie  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  word  and  so  rendered 
it  virgin.  In  this  form  it  is  quoted  in  Matthew  1  :  23, 
and  has  been  a  prime  support  for  one  of  the  great  doc- 
trines of  the  Christian  church.  But  both  Christian  and 
Jewish  scholars  today  do  not  so  understand  the  word, 
and  in  the  latest  Jewish  version  of  the  Old  Testament  in 

■  The  Authorized  Version  of  the  Bible,  in  "  Cambridge  Classics,"  Vol.  I, 
Preface,  p.  27. 


Makers  of  the  Bible 


English  *  Isaiah's  term  is  actually  translated  "  the  young 
woman." 

Once  more,  this  diversity  of  the  Bible  extends  to  its 
ethical  standards.  In  the  Old  Testament  God  is  some- 
times pictured  as  being  vindictive,  and  morally  irrespon- 
sible. He  incites  Saul  against  David  (1  Sam.  19  :  9) 
and  through  his  prophet  commands  the  king  to  "  smite 
Amalek,  and  utterly  destroy  all  that  they  have,  and  spare 
them  not ;  but  slay  both  man  and  woman,  infant  and  suck- 
ling, ox  and  sheep  "  (1  Sam.  15  :  3).  He  breaks  out  in 
a  fit  of  anger  upon  what  seems  to  us  a  slight  occasion. 
When  the  ark  was  being  moved  up  to  Jerusalem,  the 
oxen  drawing  the  cart  became  restive  (2  Sam.  6  :  6 
marg.),  and  there  was  danger  that  it  would  topple  off. 
Uzzah,  apparently  with  the  sole  intention  of  preventing 
such  a  catastrophe,  stretched  forth  his  hand  to  steady  it, 
"  and  the  anger  of  Jehovah  was  kindled  against  Uzzah ; 
and  God  smote  him  there  for  his  error  (marg.,  rashness)  ; 
and  there  he  died  by  the  ark  of  God"  (2  Sam.  6  :  6f.). 
Even  the  moral  responsibility  for  the  lie  which  brought 
about  the  death  of  Ahab  is  charged  upon  the  Almighty. 
(1  Kings  22  :  20-22.)  In  this  twenty-second  chapter 
of  First  Kings  Jehovah  is  represented  as  having  decided 
to  procure  the  death  of  the  odious  Israelitish  king.  In 
order  to  carry  out  this  purpose  he  commissions  "  a  lying 
spirit "  to  go  out  from  divine  presence  and  so  control  the 
utterances  of  the  four  hundred  prophets  as  to  make  them 
urge  upon  Ahab  a  course  of  action  which  will  result  in 
his  death.  The  prophets  cannot  help  themselves.  They 
are  represented  as  inspired  by  Jehovah  to  tell  the  lie  that- 
will  accomplish  the  divine  purpose,  (1  Kings  22.) 

Not  such,  however,  is  the  New  Testament  conception 

*"The  Holy  Scriptures,"  Philadelphia,  191 7- 


What  is  the  Bible  f    The  Problem 


of  God.  He  is  ''the  only  true  God''  (John  17  :  3), 
whose  "judgment  is  according  to  truth"  (Rom.  2:2), 
and  ''  who  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his 
works"  (Rom.  2:6).  He  is  the  righteous  judge  of  all 
(2  Tim.  4  :  8  and  Heb.  12  :  23)  and  the  one  in  whom 
''we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being"  (Acts  17  : 
28) .  Nay,  God  deals  with  men  as  with  sons,  even  though 
at  times  he  chastises.  (Heb.  12  :  7.)  He  is  in  fact  the 
Father,  who  "  knoweth  what  things  ye  have  need  of 
before  ye  ask  him"  (Matt.  6  :  8),  more  ready  to  give 
good  things  than  an  earthly  parent.  (Matt.  7  :  11.)  True, 
as  Jesus  suggests,  the  Father  is  strict  with  his  children 
when  necessary,  requiring  them  to  observe  the  obligations 
of  the  kingdom  if  they  desire  its  blessing.  (Matt.  6  :  14.) 
On  the  other  hand,  he  is  ever  ready  to  welcome  back 
the  returning  prodigal  who  comes  back  truly  repentant. 
(Luke  15  :  11-32.)  In  brief,  he  is  the  good  God  (Mark 
10  :  18),  our  Father.  (Matt.  6:9). 

At  first  puzzling,  if  not  disturbing,  this  diversity  of  the 
Scriptures  in  time  and  contents  and  ethical  standards 
becomes  intelligible  and  even  helpful  when  we  come  to 
appreciate,  even  to  a  slight  degree,  the  changes  through 
which  the  Bible  has  come  down  to  us.  This  process  is 
suggested  by  the  history  of  the  very  name  Bible.  The 
term  comes  to  us  through  the  Latin  from  the  Greek  word 
biblos  (or  bublos).  This  Greek  term  was  used  at  first 
to  designate  the  pith  of  the  papyrus  stalk,  from  which  the 
common  writing  material  of  antiquity  was  made.  Then 
the  word  was  applied  to  writings  placed  upon  rolls  or 
books  composed  of  this  material.  "The  book  (biblos) 
of  the  birth  (R.  V.,  marg.)  of  Jesus  Christ"  (Matt. 
1:1)  is  a  good  illustration  of  a  birth-register  written 
upon  this  material.     Practically  the  same  form  of  the 

B 


8  Makers  of  the  Bible 

word  occurs  in  the  Greek  version  of  Daniel  9  :  2,  where 
the  writer  is  searching  for  and  finding  in  the  books 
(bibles)  some  information  about  the  seventy  years  of 
Jerusalem's  desolation  declared  by  Jeremiah  of  old.  This 
expression  is  unique  in  that  the  word  is  in  the  plural 
and  implies  the  existence  of  a  somewhat  definite  collection 
of  sacred  writings. 

The  more  common  form  of  the  word,  however,  as  a 
designation  for  books  at  this  early  time  was  the  neuter 
plural  of  a  diminutive  from  the  same  root,  a  form  we 
transliterate  as  biblia.  This  is  the  form  of  the  word  in 
the  Greek  prologue  to  the  apocryphal  book  called  the 
Wisdom  of  Sirach  or  Ecclessiasticus,  where  the  writer 
distinguishes  the  different  parts  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures 
as  "  the  law,  and  the  prophets,  and  the  rest  of  the  an- 
cestral books"  (bibles).  Again  in  First  Maccabees  this 
form  of  the  word  appears  with  similar  significance,  "  the 
sacred  books"  (biblia),  and  "the  biblia  of  the  law" 
(1  Mace.  12  :  9  and  1  :  56). 

The  same  word  is  found  in  the  New  Testament  in  an 
interesting  connection.  Paul  seems  to  have  left  at  Troas 
at  one  time  some  things  which  later,  when  a  prisoner,  he 
desired  very  much.  So  he  asked  Timothy  to  bring  the 
articles.  (2  Tim.  4  :  13.)  They  were  his  cloak,  the 
books  (biblia),  and  the  parchments.  What  did  Paul 
mean  by  the  biblia  and  the  parchments  ?  Some  apply  his 
words  simply  to  his  books  and  his  papers.*^  In  this  case 
biblia  would  not  apply  to  the  Old  Testament  books. 
Others,  however,  have  felt  that  the  apostle  here  marks  a 
distinction  between  manuscripts  of  the  Old  Testament  and 
his  own  notes,  or  writings,  on  papyrus,  which  he  "  re- 

6  Jordan,  Hastings'  "  Dictionary  of  Apost.  Church,"  II,  art.  "  Writing," 
p.  701. 


What  is  the  Bible?    The  Problem 


garded  as  of  little  importance  compared  with  the  '  parch- 
ments,' copies  of  certain  portions  of  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures."  ^ 

Another  occurrence  of  the  word  is  found  in  a  second 
century  Christian  homily,  or  sermon.  In  speaking  of 
the  meaning  of  membership  in  the  church  and  the  pre- 
existent  character  of  that  which  is  spiritual  the  author 
uses  these  words :  "  And  moreover  the  books  and  the 
apostles  declare  that  the  church  belongs  not  to  the  present, 
but  has  existed  from  the  beginning"  (Second  Clement 
14  :  2).  "The  books"  and  "the  apostles"  are  appar- 
ently designations  of  Old  Testament  and  New  Testament 
writings  respectively.  If  so,  then  here  again  "  books  " 
(biblia)  is  used  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures.  So  also  some- 
what later  in  the  second  century  Melito,  bishop  of  Sardis, 
uses  the  word  in  the  same  sense :  ^  "  Having  learned  ac- 
curately the  books  (biblia)  of  the  Old  Covenant  I  send 
them  to  you  herewith  subjoined."  And  less  than  a  hun- 
dred years  later  the  great  scholar  of  the  early  church, 
Origen,  used  a  form  of  the  same  term  with  similar  refer- 
ence to  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament:  "And  it  is 
not  to  be  ignored  that  the  canonical  books  (biblous),  as 
the  Hebrews  hand  them  down,  are  twenty-two."  ^  It  is 
asserted  that,  in  his  commentary  on  John,  Origen  again 
uses  the  word  (biblia)  of  a  collection  which  includes  the 
New  Testament  books.®  If  this  be  so,  then  it  appears  to 
be  the  first  instance  of  the  term  with  anything  like  the 
significance  it  came  to  have  later  as  applying  to  the  whole 
Bible. 

At  some  time  this  Greek  plural  biblia  was  taken  over 

•  Milligan,  "  New  Testament  Documents,"  p.  20. 

'  Cf.  Goodspeed,  "  Die  Aeltesten  Apologeten,"  p.  309. 

*  Quoted  by  Eusebius,  "  Church  History,"  VI,  25,  i. 

»  Murray,  "  New  English  Dictionary,"  I,  under  "  Bible." 


10  Makers  of  the  Bible 

into  Latin;  probably  at  first  with  its  plural  force.  In 
this  form  it  would  not  be  a  perfectly  clear  designation 
for  the  Scriptures.  At  any  rate,  Jerome,  the  translator 
of  the  Vulgate,  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  or  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth,  used  the  unambiguous  term  hihlio- 
theca  divinaj  "  divine  library,''  to  emphasize  the  library- 
character  of  the  Bible.  But  in  the  course  of  time  the 
Latin  plural  became  a  singular  noun,  a  change  not  un- 
common in  the  history  of  the  Latin  language  so  far  as 
other  words  are  concerned.  And  such  a  change  would 
be  applied  the  more  easily  to  a  word  like  biblia  as  men 
came  to  regard  the  Biblical  writings  as  one  work.  Just 
how  early  this  took  place  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but 
by  the  fourteenth  century  the  word  is  found  in  English 
in  the  singular,  taken  over  from  a  singular  Latin  noun, 
and  applied  to  any  sort  of  book.  Then  it  is  readily 
applied  to  the  Bible  when  English  writers  reflect  the 
Scriptures  as  a  unit.  Thus  a  word  originally  plural  has 
been  made  over  into  a  singular,  and  the  expression  The 
Bible  has  come  to  obscure  in  many  minds  the  fundamental 
character  of  these  Scriptures  as  a  collection  of  writings. 
Hence  the  Bible  in  the  light  of  its  growth  and  the  history 
of  its  name  reveals  itself  to  us  as  a  collection  of  books 
written  out  of  human  life  to  life,  tried  out  and  gathered 
together  in  the  light  of  life's  needs,  and  bringing  a  life- 
message  in  all  times  and  to  men  of  all  walks  and  condi- 
tions of  life. 

The  need,  therefore,  today  in  the  realm  of  Bible  study 
is  for  a  better  understanding  and  appreciation  of  the 
origins  of  our  present  Biblical  writings,  if  we  are  to  catch 
the  meaning  of  the  different  writers  in  the  circumstances 
under  which  their  works  were  produced.  If  the  Bible  is 
so  various  in  its  different  parts,  the  messages  of  the  dif- 


What  is  the  Bible  f     The  Problem  11 

ferent  writers  must  be  evaluated  in  the  light  of  the  cir- 
cumstances and  occasions  that  produced  them.  This 
means  that  we  need  a  wider  historical  study  of  the  Bible 
in  the  present  generation,  if  we  are  to  apply  the  Biblical 
teaching  successfully  to  our  modern  conditions. 

There  are  two  phases  to  such  historical  Bible  study,  an 
outer  and  an  inner.  The  latter  consists  in  an  attempt  to 
study  a  book  of  the  Bible  for  knowledge  of  its  author, 
readers,  date,  circumstances  of  its  origin,  and  course  of 
its  thought.  The  former  may  be  termed  the  more  funda- 
mental or  preliminary  task  of  becoming  familiar  with 
the  literary  background  of  the  Bible,  the  materials  and 
methods  of  early  writing,  the  circulation  and  collection  of 
the  writings,  and  the  processes  through  which  they  have 
passed,  both  translational  and  textual,  to  reach  their  pres- 
ent form.  Applying  an  expression  of  Paul's  to  the  Bible, 
"  We  have  this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels  "  (2  Cor.  4  : 
7).  In  the  following  chapters  the  effort  will  be  to  learn 
something  of  the  externals  of  the  making  of  our  Bible,  in 
the  hope  that  such  knowledge  will  lead  to  a  better  appre- 
ciation of  its  great  teachings  and  its  great  Teacher,  Jesus 
the  Christ. 


II 

PRE-BIBLICAL  WRITERS :  THE  LOST  BOOKS 

Study  Outline 

1.  Find  in  your  Bible  as  many  occurrences  of  the  word 
"  book  "  as  you  can,  noting  among  others  Genesis  5:1; 
Isaiah  29  :  11;  Luke  4  :  17.  What  suggestions  of  the 
early  use  of  books  do  you  find  in  this  study? 

2.  In  the  Bible  there  are  reflections  of  what  may  be 
termed  "  lost  books,"  such  as  Joshua  10  :  12f.  and 
1  Corinthians  5 :  9.  Find  as  many  of  these  as  possible, 
and  try  to  form  an  opinion  of  the  character  of  these  lost 
writings. 

3.  Read  the  books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles  and  make 
lists  of  all  the  **  lost  books  "  there  reflected.  Estimate 
how  many  different  books  these  are,  and  show  how  they 
were  used  by  the  writers  of  our  Kings  and  Chronicles. 

4.  On  the  basis  of  such  passages  as  Numbers  23  :  7-10 
and  1  Timothy  3  :  16  find  as  many  poetical  fragments  in 
the  Bible  as  you  can,  and  tell  how  they  serve  the  purposes 
of  different  Biblical  writers. 

5.  Commit  to  memory  Luke's  preface  (Luke  1  :  1-4), 
and  elicit  from  it  what  information  it  gives  on  the  Evan- 
gelist's attitude  toward  earlier  Gospel  traditions  and  docu- 
ments, and  his  purpose  in  writing. 

6.  State  briefly  your  ideas  of  the  significance  of  this 
background  literature  for  one's  conception  of  the  Bible. 

7.  How  does  this  discovery  of  the  use  of  sources  by 
Biblical  writers  affect  your  conception  of  the  Bible? 

12 


Prc-Biblical  Writers:  The  Lost  Books  13 

Scripture  References  and  Helps 

Ecclesiastes  12  :  12;  Numbers  21  :  14,  17f.,  27-30; 
Judges  5;  Joshua  10  :  12f. ;  2  Samuel  1  :  17f.,  19-27; 
1  Kings  11  :  41 ;  14  :  19,  and  other  corresponding  refer- 
ences; 2  Kings  1  :  18,  and  other  corresponding  refer- 
ences ;  1  Chronicles  9  :  1 ;  27  :  24 ;  29  :  29 ;  2  Chronicles 
9  :  29,  etc. ;  1  Samuel  10  :  25 ;  1  Kings  4  :  32f . ;  Genesis 

4  :  23f.;  Exodus  15  :  1-18;  Numbers  23  :  7-10,  18-24; 
24  :  3-9,  15-24. 

1  Corinthians  5:9;7:1;15:3;13:2;2  Corin- 
thians 2  :  4;  7  :  8f.;  Philippians  4  :  15f.;  2:  25;  4  :  18; 
Colossians  4  :  16;  3  :  16;  Acts  18  :  27;  16  :  25;  20  : 
35;  Romans  16  :  1;  2  Corinthians  3  :  2;  11  :  26f.;  Mat- 
thew 26  :  30;  24  :  43;  21  :  21 ;  1  :  1 ;  Ephesians  5  :  19; 

5  :  14;  1  Timothy  3  :  16;  2  Thessalonians  2  :  15;  Luke 
1  :  1-4;  1  Thessalonians  5:4;  Mark  11  :  23. 

Driver,  "  Introduction  to  Literature  of  Old  Testament," 
rev.  ed.,  pp.  186-189  and  527-532. 

Hunting,  ''  Story  of  Our  Bible,"  pp.  1-20  and  81-89. 

Hastings  and  Standard  Bible  dictionaries,  arts.  "  Ja- 
shar,"  "  Wars  of  Jehovah." 

Burton,  "  Short  Introduction  to  the  Gospels,"  pp.  80-98., 

Robinson,  "  Life  of  Paul,"  pp.  164-174. 

Goodspeed,  "  Story  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp.  36-39, 
60f.,  lOOf.,  121-123. 

Souter,  "  Text  and  Canon  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp. 
149-151. 

The  word  book  is  not  uncommon  in  the  English  Bible. 
It  represents  at  least  three  different  words  of  the  original 
Hebrew  and  Greek  in  six  or  seven  variant  forms  and 


14  Makers  of  the  Bible 

occurs  in  both  the  earlier  and  later  portions  of  the  Old 
Testament  as  well  as  in  the  New  Testament.  The  fre- 
quent references  to  books,  histories,  records,  letters,  and 
booklets  not  now  extant  suggest  that  there  must  have 
been  at  times  in  circulation  among  the  Jews  and  early 
Christians  many  more  "  books  "  than  have  come  down  to 
us  in  this  Bible;  so  many  more  that  the  writer  of  Eccle- 
siastes  could  complain  of  the  endless  making  of  books 
in  his  day  and  the  utter  weariness  of  much  study.  (Eccl. 
12  :  12.) 

And  this  first  impression  of  what  may  be  called  the 
Bible's  background  literature  is  confirmed  by  a  search  of 
its  pages  for  reflections  of  such  writings.  To  begin  with, 
there  are  at  least  two  "  lost  books  "  quoted  by  name  in 
the  Old  Testament.  The  first  is  mentioned  in  Numbers 
21  :  14,  where  a  fragmentary  verse  of  poetry  is  quoted 
from  the  "  Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah  "  describing  the 
advance  of  ancient  Israel  when  opposed  by  the  Amorites 
at  the  river  Arnon.  The  Israelites  were  victorious  in  the 
struggle,  and  perhaps  some  unknown  bard  celebrated  the 
victory  in  song.  Later  the  historian  found  this  bit  of 
ancient  poetry  and  incorporated  it  in  his  record  of  the 
victorious  onward  march  of  his  people  in  their  early  con- 
quests. After  the  people  had  passed  on  to  Be-er,  Moses 
was  directed  to  assemble  them  to  receive  water  as  a  gift 
from  Jehovah.  This  was  an  auspicious  event  in  the 
course  of  Israel's  progress  and  was  in  all  likelihood 
marked  by  the  composition  of  a  spirited  song,  part  of 
which  has  been  incorporated  by  our  writer  in  his  narra- 
tive, perhaps  from  the  same  "  Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jeho- 
vah." Hear  them  as  they  sing  about  the  well,  exulting  in 
the  discovery  of  refreshing  water,  which  they  accept  as  a 
gift  from  their  leaders: 


P re-Biblical  Writers:  The  Lost  Books  15 

''  Spring  up,  O  Well ;  sing  ye  unto  it : 
The  well  which  the  princes  digged, 
Which  the  nobles  of  the  people  delved. 
With  the  sceptre,  and  with  their  staves  " 

(Num.21  :  17f.). 

Still  farther  on  in  this  journey  of  conquest  the  continued 
success  of  Israel's  hosts  in  conflict  with  Moabites  and 
Amorites  was  celebrated  again  in  an  ode  of  triumph, 
popularized  perhaps  by  reciters  and  readers  who  are 
characterized  as  "they  who  speak  in  proverbs"  (Num. 
21  :  27).  And  this  ode,  or  part  of  it,  has  been  preserved 
to  us  by  our  book  of  Numbers,  shall  we  say  from  the 
same  *'  Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah  "  ? 

"  Come  ye  to  Heshbon ; 
Let  the  city  of  Sihon  be  built  and  established: 
For  a  fire  is  gone  out  of  Heshbon, 
A  flame  from  the  city  of  Sihon : 
It  hath  devoured  Ar  of  Moab, 
The  Lords  of  the  high  places  of  the  Arnon. 
Woe  to  thee,  Moab ! 
Thou  art  undone,  O  people  of  Chemosh : 
He  hath  given  his  sons  as  fugitives, 
And  his  daughters  into  captivity. 
Unto  Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites. 
We  have  shot  at  them ;  Heshbon  is  perished  even 

unto  Dibon, 
And  we  have  laid  waste  even  unto  Nophah, 
Which  reacheth  unto  Medeba  "  (Num.  21  :  27-30). 

It  is  not  certain,  of  course,  that  these  three  fragments 
are  parts  of  a  single  poem.     They  may  be  merely  frag- 


16  Makers  of  the  Bible 

ments  of  different  poems  from  a  single  book,  or  even  from 
different  books.  But  even  so,  they  suggest  the  early  exis- 
tence of  collections  of  songs  celebrating  the  brave  deeds 
of  the  chosen  people  under  the  leadership  of  their  God. 
The  poems  are  rugged  and  vigorous,  soul-stirring  paeans 
of  victory,  and  take  rank  with  Deborah's  martial  ode  in 
the  fifth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Judges.  Indeed,  it  is 
just  possible  that  this  remarkable  song,  ''  unsurpassed  in 
Hebrew  literature  in  all  the  great  qualities  of  poetry,"  ^ 
belonged  originally  to  the  same  noteworthy  collection  of 
songs  as  these  three  fragments,  written  and  sung  for  the 
glorification  of  a  people's  heroes  at  a  time  when  the  tribes 
were  emerging  into  something  suggestive  of  national  self- 
consciousness  under  the  leadership  of  Jehovah  the  God 
of  battles.  And  the  title  Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah 
would  be  a  good  name  for  such  a  collection  of  war- 
ballads. 

The  second  "  lost  book  "  distinctly  quoted  by  name  in 
the  Old  Testament  is  mentioned  in  two  places.  The  first 
is  in  Joshua  10  :  12f.  The  tenth  chapter  of  this  book 
gives  the  account  of  the  capture  of  southern  Canaan. 
The  first  section  of  this  narrative  is  the  story  of  Joshua's 
defeat  of  the  five  Amorite  kings  who  had  formed  a 
league  against  Gibeon,  whence  the  doughty  leader  of  the 
Israelites  drove  the  allied  kings  by  Beth-horon  to  Azekah 
and  Makkedah.  Verse  16  is  the  logical  continuation  of 
verse  11  in  that  story,  while  verses  12-15  break  this 
thread  of  connection  and  constitute  an  insertion  from  a 
different  source.  They  are  thus  in  themselves  a  short 
paragraph,  in  the  midst  of  which  stands  this  fragment 
of  poetry  from  the  Book  of  Jashar.  The  word  Jashar 
means  "  upright  one,"  and  so  the  quotation  may  possibly 

*  Moore,  "  Inter.  Crit.  Com.  on  Judges,"  p.  135. 


Pre-Bihlical  Writers:  The  Lost  Books  17 

be  taken  from  an  ancient  record  of  the  deeds  of  right- 
eous men,  though  this  is  a  rather  precarious  inference. 
More  Hkely,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Book  of  the  Wars  of 
Jehovah,  this  Book  of  Jashar  was  a  collection  of  poems 
celebrating  the  early  heroes  of  the  Hebrew  people  and 
their  achievements  in  war.  In  this  instance  the  quotation 
is  assigned  to  Joshua  himself : 

"  Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon ; 
And  thou,  Moon,  in  the  valley  of  Aijalon. 
And  the  sun  stood  still,  and  the  moon  stayed, 
Until  the  nation  had  avenged  themselves  of  their 
enemies.'* 

A  second  mention  of  this  rare  old  book  is  more  en- 
lightening, even  if  in  a  passage  of  greater  difficulty.  It 
is  found  in  2  Samuel  1  :  17f.,  followed  by  a  somewhat 
lengthy  excerpt  from  the  book  itself.  "  And  David 
lamented  with  this  lamentation  over  Saul  and  over  Jona- 
than his  son  (and  he  bade  them  teach  the  children  of 
Judah  the  song  of  the  bow:  behold,  it  is  written  in  the 
book  of  Jashar)."  The  dirge,  or  lamentation,  following 
in  verses  19-27,  shows  plainly  that  the  book  of  which 
it  was  part  was  one  of  real  artistic  and  literary  beauty. 
Kent  writes  of  the  poem  as  follows :  ^ 

The  artistic  beauty  of  the  poem  is  unsurpassed.  It  opens  with 
a  stanza  in  the  quick  two-beat  measure,  which  rises  in  the  second 
stanza  to  the  three-beat,  and  in  the  third  to  the  four-beat  measure, 
which  is  maintained  throughout  the  song,  until  the  last  refrain  is 
introduced,  giving  the  effect  of  a  final  sob. 

Here  is  Kent's  translation  of  this  sweetly  solemn  song: 

2 "  Founders  and  Rulers  of  United  Israel,"  Historical  Bible.  Vol.  IT, 
p.   119. 


18  Makers  of  the  Bible 

"  Weep,  OJudah! 
Grieve,  O  Israel ! 
On  thy  heights  are  the  slain ! 
How  the  mighty  have  fallen ! 

Tell  it  not  in  Philistine  Gath, 
Declare  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Askelon ; 
Lest  the  daughters  of  the  Philistines  rejoice, 
Lest  the  daughters  of  the  uncircumcised  exult. 

Ye  mountains  of  Gilboa,  may  no  dew  descend, 
Nor  rain  upon  you,  O  ye  fields  of  death ! 
For  there  was  the  shield  of  the  mighty  thrown  down, 
The  shield  of  Saul,  not  anointed  with  oil. 

From  the  blood  of  the  slain,  from  the  fat  of  the 

mighty, 
The  bow  of  Jonathan  turned  not  back. 
The  sword  of  Saul  returned  not  empty. 

Saul  and  Jonathan,  the  beloved  and  the  lovely ! 
In  life  and  in  death  they  were  not  parted ; 
They  were  swifter  than  eagles,  they  were  stronger 
than  lions. 

Daughters  of  Israel,  weep  over  Saul, 
Who  clothed  you  daintily  in  finest  linen, 
Golden  ornaments  he  placed  on  your  garments, 
How  the  mighty  have  fallen  in  the  midst  of  battle ! 

Jonathan,  in  thy  death  me  thou  hast  wounded ! 
O  Jonathan,  my  brother,  for  thee  I'm  in  anguish. 
To  me  thou  wert  surpassingly  dear, 
Thy  love  were  far  more  than  the  love  of  woman ! 


Pre-Biblical  Writers:  The  Lost  Books  19 

How  the  mighty  have  fallen, 

And  the  weapons  of  war  perished !  " 

(Historical  Bible,  H,  p.  117f.) 

This  Book  of  Jashar  has  given  rise  to  a  large  and 
varied  literature  and  to  many  speculations  about  the 
character  and  contents  of  the  interesting  old  lost  book. 
We  must  content  ourselves  here  with  just  the  inference 
that  as  the  passages  quoted  in  Joshua  and  Second  Samuel 
are  fragments  of  poems  in  praise  of  ancient  heroes  and 
early  events  the  book  was  in  all.  probability  a  collection 
of  such  poems,  much  like  the  Book  of  the  Wars  of 
Jehovah.^  Whatever  the  character  and  contents  of  this 
lost  collection,  it  does  tell  us  that  at  an  early  time  in 
Israel  books  were  in  process  of  formation,  and  were  later 
referred  to  as  sources  of  inspiration  and  information  by 
those  writers  who  gave  form  to  the  books  of  our  present 
Bible. 

There  are  in  the  next  place  several  lost  books  in  the 
Old  Testament,  either  simply  referred  to  by  name  or 
mentioned  as  the  source  from  which,  the  narrator  draws 
his  information.  The  first  explicit  mention  of  such  a 
work  seems  to  be  in  1  Kings  11  :  41,  where  the  historian 
gives  the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  Solomon  as  the  source 
of  information  about  Solomon  and  the  events  of  his 
reign.  In  similar  fashion,  when  writing  his  story  of  the 
divided  kingdom,  he  appears  to  have  access  to  at  least 
two  political  histories  which  were  based  upon  annals,  or 
royal  chronicles.  These  histories  he  calls  the  Books  of 
the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah.  These 
two  well-written  accounts,  accessible  to  those  who  cared 

8Cf.    Bennett,    in   Hastings'   "Dictionary   of   the   Bible,"   Vol.    II,   art. 

"  Jashar." 


20 


Makers  of  the  Bible 


to  read  them,  as  his  formula  of  reference  suggests,  he 
reflects  some  thirty  times  or  more  from  1  Kings  14  :  19 
to  2  Kings  24  ;  5.  A  somewhat  similar,  though  more 
confusing,  reflection  of  sources  is  found  in  First  and 
Second  Chronicles.  The  chronicler  has  an  imposing  array 
of  some  twenty  references  to  sources,  as  1  Chronicles 
9  :  1;  27  :  24;  29  :  29;  and  2  Chronicles  9  :  29;  and 
here  and  there  to  the  end.  But  these  citations  in  all  prob- 
ability reflect  only  two  or  three  independent  sources  upon 
which  he  drew.* 

In  addition  to  these  lost  books  so  clearly  reflected  in 
the  pages  of  the  Old  Testament,  there  are  mere  state- 
ments about  others  which  are  otherwise  unknown.  Such, 
for  instance,  are  the  proverbs  and  songs  of  Solomon  about 
plants  and  animals  (1  Kings  4  :  32f.)  and  the  work  by 
Samuel  on  the  kingdom.  (1  Sam.  10  :  25.)  There  are 
also  reflections  of  fragments  of  poetry  taken  from  un- 
named early  writings.  The  song  of  Lamech  may  be  such 
a  bit.  (Gen.  4  :  23f.)  The  song  of  Moses  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  is  a  fairly  representative  piece  of  Israel's 
ancient  folk-songs  (Exod.  15  :  1-18),  while  even  more 
interesting  and  suggestive  are  the  Balaam  songs  in  the 
book  of  Numbers.  (Num.  23  :  7-10,  18-24,  and  24  :  3-9, 
15-24.) 

The  same  phenomena  appear  in  the  New  Testament. 
Let  us  begin  with  Paul.  Of  course  we  shall  not  expect  to 
find  him  using  **  lost  books  "  as  sources,  for  he  is  writing 
letters.  But  it  will  soon  be  seen  that  he  wrote  more  letters 
than  have  been  preserved  in  the  New  Testament.  For 
instance,  in  the  present  First  Corinthians  he  says  that  he 
had  written  once  before  to  his  Christian  friends  in  Corinth 


*  6f,  Driver,  "  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament,"  rev.  ed.,  p.  S27ff.,  and 
McFadycn,  "  Intro,  to  the  Old  Testament,"  p.  3S3ff. 


Pre-Biblical  Writers:  The  Lost  Books  21 

telling  them  not  to  associate  with  immoral  people.  ( 1  Cor. 
5:9.)  This  of  itself  shows  that  he  wrote  more  than 
twice  to  the  Corinthian  church,  and  the  phenomena  of  the 
two  letters  in  their  present  form  suggest  the  possibility 
of  five  or  six  letters  to  that  church.  Paul  had  not  only- 
received  and  answered  a  letter  from  Corinth  about  certain 
religious  and  social  practises  (1  Cor.  7:1),  but  in 
addition  thereto  seems  to  have  written  a  "  painful  "  letter, 
which  for  a  time  he  regretted  and  then  later  felt  satisfied 
with,  when  he  learned  that  it  had  finally  produced  good 
results.  (2  Cor.  2  :  4  and  7  :  8f.)  Practically  the  same 
situation  confronts  us  in  the  letter  to  the  Philippians. 
If  Paul  was  courteous  enough  to  acknowledge  gifts  sent 
to  him  at  different  times  by  friends,  and  if  the  messenger 
who  brought  the  gift  could  carry  back  a  letter  of  acknowl- 
edgment, then  the  apostle  may  easily  have  written  to  his 
first  European  church  at  least  four  times  before  sending 
them  this  immortal  letter;  twice  from  Thessalonica  (Phil. 
4  :  16),  once  from  Corinth  (Phil.  4  :  15),  and  once  from 
Rome  on  the  arrival  of  Epaphroditus  from  Philippi  with 
the  church's  contribution  to  the  needs  of  their  beloved 
missionary.^  (Phil.  2  :  25  and  4  :  18.)  What  those  lost 
letters  contained  we  have  no  means  of  knowing.  The 
Philippians  do  not  seem  to  have  prized  those  earlier  letters 
enough  to  preserve  them.  Perhaps  the  same  fate  over- 
took the  famous  lost  ''Laodicean  letter"  (Col.  4  :  16), 
unless,  as  some  Christians  in  both  ancient  and  modern 
times  have  believed,  this  lost  letter  is  to  be  identified 
with  that  New  Testament  writing  entitled  "  To  the  Ephe- 
sians."  But  in  spite  of  this  apparent  neglect  of  Paul's 
letters  by  the  early  church,  Paul  himself  as  a  man  has 
come  into  his  own  in  the  appreciation  of  the  modern 

^  Cf.  Goodspeed,  "  Story  of  the  New  Testament,"  p.  39. 


22  Makers  of  the  Bible 

church.  For  we  not  only  admire  his  power  to  organize 
and  train  a  corps  of  workers  Hke  Timothy,  Silas,  Luke, 
and  the  rest,  but  also  are  grateful  for  his  wonderful  ability 
to  produce  such  immortal  letters  as  these  that  constitute 
so  large  a  part  of  our  New  Testament,  remembering  that 
his  missionary  activity  fell  within  a  comparatively  short 
period  of  about  twenty-five  years  and  covered  a  goodly 
portion  of  Asia  Minor  and  southeastern  Europe  as  far 
west  as  Rome,  if  not  Spain;  that  the  burden  of  anxiety 
for  all  the  churches  and  the  opposition  of  probably  sincere 
but  misguided  "  false  brothers "  pressed  heavily  upon 
him ;  that  his  daily  life  was  one  of  toil  for  self-support 
in  addition  to  the  work  of  evangelization;  that  he  was 
often  "  in  danger  from  rivers  and  robbers,  from  Jews  and 
Gentiles,  through  many  a  sleepless  night,  through  hunger 
and  thirst,  starving  many  a  time,  cold  and  ill-clad,  and 
all  the  rest  of  it"  (condensed  from  Moffatt's  translation 
of  2  Cor.  11  :  26f.) 

Not  only,  however,  was  individual  letter-writing  prac- 
tised among  early  Christians  on  a  larger  scale  than  is 
now  commonly  supposed,  but  there  is  also  evidence  which 
intimates  that  the  custom  of  official  letter-writing  had 
begun  in  the  Apostolic  Age.  In  the  book  of  Acts  ( 18  :  27) 
we  find  mention  of  a  letter  written  by  one  church  to  an- 
other, representing  what  may  be  designated  as  the  official 
literary  activity  of  the  early  church.  At  the  end  of  the 
first  century  the  church  in  Rome,  through  one  of  its 
members,  wrote  to  the  church  in  Corinth  on  the  question 
of  Christian  conduct,  and  that  letter  has  been  preserved 
as  First  Clement  in  the  Apostolic  Fathers.  In  a  some- 
what similar  fashion  the  church  in  Ephesus  writes  to  the 
brethren  in  Achaia  on  behalf  of  Apollos.  This  Christian 
teacher,  a  cultured  native  of  Alexandria,  having  finished 


Pre-Biblical  Writers:  The  Lost  Books  23 

his  work  in  Ephesus,  wished  to  go  over  to  Achaia.  So  a 
letter  was  written  in  his  behalf  to  prepare  a  welcome  for 
him  and  to  introduce  him  to  the  Christians  there.  One 
wonders  whether  this  was  simply  a  letter  of  commenda- 
tion or  a  more  formal  letter,  the  forerunner  of  the  modern 
church  letter.  Perhaps  it  combined  both  features.  If  it 
was  the  former,  is  it  to  be  classed  with  Paul's  letter  com- 
mending Phoebe  to  Ephesus,  now  appearing  as  part  of 
the  sixteenth  chapter  of  Romans  (Rom.  16  :  1)?  It 
can  scarcely  have  been  one  of  those  "  commendatory  let- 
ters "  that  roused  the  apostle's  ire  and  drew  forth  his 
caustic  question  indignantly  repudiating  the  practise  of 
"  some  "  in  this  respect.  (2  Cor.  3:1.) 

In  the  next  place,  as  there  are  psalms  and  fragments  of 
songs  in  the  Old  Testament,  so  we  are  led  to  look  for 
suggestions  of  Christian  hymns  in  the  New  Testament. 
Early  Christian  writers  of  the  centuries  immediately  fol- 
lowing the  Apostolic  Age  make  it  clear  that  hymns  formed 
an  important  part  of  the  services  of  the  primitive  church. 
There  are  in  the  New  Testament  itself  reflections  of  the 
same  practise.  For  when  Jesus  had  finished  the  supper 
with  his  disciples,  before  going  out  to  the  Mount  of 
Olives  they  sang  a  hymn  (Matt.  26  :  30),  probably  chant- 
ing a  part  of  the  so-called  Hallel.  Paul  and  Silas  found 
themselves  fast  in  the  stocks  at  midnight  in  the  Philippian 
jail  and  comforted  one  another  with  prayer  and  hymn- 
singing.  (Acts  16  :  25.)  And  when  the  apostle  wanted 
the-  Colossians  to  drive  out  revelings  and  drunken  riot- 
ings,  he  suggested  that  they  do  it  by  occupying  themselves 
with  "  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,"  singing 
and  making  melody  to  the  Lord  from  the  heart  (Col.  3  : 
16),  the  same  injunction  being  repeated  in  the  letter  to 
the  Ephesians.  (Eph.  5  :  19.) 

G 


24  Makers  of  the  Bible 

It  occasions  no  surprise,  then,  to  find  in  the  pages  of 
the  New  Testament  what  appear  to  be  fragments  of  this 
early  Christian  hymnody.  And  right  here,  first,  in  this 
same  Ephesians  there  is  a  bit  of  an  ancient  Christian 
hymn,  though  it  is  not  printed  in  the  American  Standard 
V^ersion  in  such  form  as  to  suggest  its  poetical  character : 

"  Awake,  thou  that  sleepest, 
And  arise  from  the  dead ; 
And  the  Christ  shall  shine  upon  thee"  (5  :  14). 

First  Timothy  yields  a  fragment,  this  time  printed  in 
stanza  form  in  our  American  version : 

"  He  w^ho  was  manifested  in  the  flesh. 
Justified  in  the  spirit, 
Seen  of  angels, 
Preached  among  the  nations, 
Believed  on  in  the  world. 
Received  up  in  glory"  (3  :  16). 

Very  much  like  this  are  similar  lines  on  the  nativity  found 
in  that  remnant  of  early  Christian  hymnody,  the  so-called 
Odes  of  Solomon : 

"  She  brought  him  forth  openly, 
And  acquired  him  with  great  dignity. 
And  loved  him  in  his  swaddling-clothes, 
And  guarded  him  kindly. 
And  showed  him  in  majesty."  * 

So  also  one  is  tempted  to  feel  that  Luke,  with  an  ear  for 
the  music  of  language,  finds  the  beautiful  songs  of  his 

•Goodspeed,  in  "Biblical  World,"  XLVI,   pp.  345-347- 


Pre-Biblical  Writers:  The  Lost  Books  25 

early  chapters  in  the  hymns  of  the  church,  while  Revela- 
tion frequently  casts  its  material  into  poetic  form,  some 
of  which  was  very  Hkely  taken  from  hymns  familiar  to 
the  Christians  of  the  writer's  age  and  circle. 

But  when  search  is  made  for  reflections  of  "  lost 
Gospels"  there  is  clearer  light.  There  are  indications 
in  the  New  Testament  of  a  background  of  oral  evangelic 
tradition.  Paul  intimates  that  he  had  "  received  "  a  body 
of  gospel  tradition  and  had  '*  delivered  "  it  to  the  Corin- 
thians. (1  Cor.  15  :  3.)  With  similar  significance  he  bids 
the  Thessalonians  hold  fast  the  "  traditions  "  they  had 
received.  (2  Thess.  2  :  15.)  Likewise  Luke  suggests  the 
existence  of  a  fairly  well-defined  body  of  oral  tradition 
when  he  intimates  that  by  his  time  a  number  of  Gospel 
writers  had  based  their  works  on  the  testimony  of  eye- 
witnesses of  the  facts  of  Jesus'  life.  (Luke  1:2.) 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  also  reflections  of  written 
Gospel  narratives.  In  his  address  to  the  Ephesian  elders, 
when  he  tarried  for  them  at  Miletus,  Paul  refers  to  a 
saying  of  the  Lord  Jesus  not  found  in  our  present  Gos- 
pels: "  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive  "  (Acts 
20  :  35^).  This,  with  such  passages  as  1  Thessalonians 
5  :  4  reflecting  Jesus'  words  in  Matthew  24  :  43,  and 
1  Corinthians  13  :  2  reflecting  Matthew  21  :  21  and 
Mark  11  :  23,  strengthens  Souter's  conviction  that  Paul 
had  a  written  compendium  of  Jesus'  teaching.'' 

Luke's  preface,  also,  affords  rather  definite  suggestions 
of  early  evangelic  booklets  upon  which  our  present  Gos- 
pels are  based,  at  least  in  part.  In  this  preface  it  appears 
that  when  Luke  wrote  he  had  access  not  only  to  oral 
tradition,  as  indicated  above,  but  also  to  several  more  or 
less  complete  written  narratives  of  the  life  of  Jesus. 

'"Text  and  Canon  of  the  New  Testament,"  p.   151. 


26  Makers  of  the  Bible 

These  earlier  Gospel  booklets  were  based  upon  oral  ac- 
counts proceeding  directly  from  personal  companions  of 
Jesus,  it  is  true,  yet  in  the  opinion  of  the  third  Evangelist 
they  seem  to  have  lacked  something  in  the  way  of  accuracy 
of  statement  and  fulness  of  details.  Hence  after  care- 
ful investigation  of  the  facts  of  the  narrative  Luke  enters 
upon  the  task  of  providing  his  readers  with  "  an  entirely 
trustworthy  record  of  the  life  of  Jesus,  an  historical  basis 
of  faith."  ®  The  same  writer  calls  attention  to  the  con- 
clusion of  modern  scholarship  that  while  Mark's  Gospel, 
practically  as  we  have  it,  was  used  by  both  Matthew  and 
Luke,  there  were  other  written  Gospel  narratives,  now 
lost  at  least  in  part,  accessible  to  these  Evangelists.  And 
it  is  an  interesting  and  enlightening  suggestion  in  this 
connection  that  the  use  of  the  word  "  book  "  in  Matthew 
1:1,  referring  to  the  first  seventeen  verses  of  that  Gospel, 
reflects  such  a  possible  booklet.^ 

Thus  it  appears  reasonably  clear  that  the  New  Testa- 
ment, like  the  Old,  has  a  background  literature  larger  in 
content  than  our  present  "  Twenty-seven  Books  "  and  of 
varied  literary  character.  The  Bible's  "  lost  books  "  repre- 
sent sources  from  which  Biblical  writers  drew  largely 
both  inspiration  and  materials.  Our  Bible  takes  on  the 
character  of  a  "  corpus,"  or  deposit,  of  Jewish  and  Chris- 
tian literature,  and  reminds  us  not  only  of  those  who 
were  inspired  to  write,  but  also  of  those  who  were  in- 
spired to  preserve  for  later  ages  these  early  materials. 
And  this  only  adds  to  the  worth  of  the  Bible.  For  it 
means  that  many  individuals  were  moved  by  the  spirit  of 
God  to  interpret  afresh  those  ancient  poems  and  records, 
and  to  add  their  own  contributions,  in  order  to  show  how 

8  Burton,  ♦'  Short  Introduction  to  the  Gospels,"  pp.  86-88. 
®  Burton,  "Short  Introduction,"  pp.  97  and  126,  with  note. 


Pre-Biblical  Writers:  The  Lost  Books  27 

God  and  Christ  make  known  the  divine  will  to  men. 
What  did  these  early  books  look  like  in  their  original 
form,  both  those  lost  and  these  preserved  ?  On  what  sort 
of  materials  and  with  what  kind  of  instruments  were  they 
written?  How  did  the  writers  go  about  the  actual  task 
of  putting  their  thoughts  into  written  form?  These  and 
other  like  questions  press  for  answer  and  will  engage 
attention  in  the  succeeding  chapters. 


Ill 

THE  WRITERS  OF  THE  BIBLE 

Study  Outline 

1.  Find  as  many  references  as  possible,  such  as  Exodus 
17  :  14,  that  reflect  familiarity  with  the  art  of  writing 
as  mere  ability  to  use  a  pen,  noting  the  circumstances  of 
each  reference. 

2.  Find  some  reflections  of  the  art  of  writing,  such  as 
Galatians  6:11  and  Judges  5  :  14  margin,  that  suggest 
individual  writers  or  classes  of  writers  possessing  ability 
not  only  to  use  the  pen  but  to  produce  works  of  literary 
merit. 

3.  Trace  the  reflection  in  the  Bible  of  the  materials 
of  writing:  ink  and  what  served  for  paper;  and  pens. 

4.  Make  a  careful  study  of  the  books  of  Kings  and  the 
thirty-sixth  chapter  of  Jeremiah  in  the  Old  Testament  and 
of  Luke's  preface  (Luke  1  :  1-4)  and  Paul's  earlier 
letters  in  the  New  Testament,  and  trace  the  reflection 
of  the  methods  of  accomplishing  the  task  of  reducing 
thought  to  writing,  whether  by  direct  composition  on  the 
part  of  the  author,  or  by  dictation. 

5.  Prepare  a  concise  statement  of  your  study  of  the 
subject  of  this  chapter,  noting  the  familiarity  of  Biblical 
writers  with  the  externals  of  the  art  of  writing,  their 
ability  in  literature,  the  materials  and  instruments  of 
writing,  and  the  methods  of  producing  written  docu- 
ments, and  the  significance  of  it  all  for  one's  conception 
of  the  Bible. 

28 


The  Writers  of  the  Bible  29 


Scripture  References  and  Helps 

Exodus  17  :  14';  31  :  18;  34  :  1,  28;  Joshua  8  :  32; 
18  :  1-10;  15  :  15;  Judges  8  :  14;1  :  11;5  :  14;  2  Sam- 
uel 11  :  14;  8  :  16f.;  20  :  23-25;  1  Kings  21  :  8;  4  :  3; 
1  Kings  12  to  2  Kings  17;  Isaiah  8  :  2;  36  :  11 ;  8  :  1 ; 
37  :  14;  Habakkuk  2:2;  Jeremiah  29  :  1 ;  36  :  10-12, 
20f.;  36  :  18;  17  :  1;  29  :  5-7;  36  :  23,  28-32;  Luke 
1  :  3f.;  4  :  20;  Galatians  6  :  11;  Revelation  1:4;  1  : 
3;  22  :  7;  2  Kings  18  :  18,  37,  18-25;  Proverbs  25  :  1 ; 
Ezekiel  9  :  2;  Psalm  45  :  1 ;  Job  19  :  24;  13  :  26; 
3  Maccabees  4  :  20;  2  Corinthians  3  :  3;  4  :  7;  2  John 
12;  3  John  13;  Deuteronomy  27  :  2f.;  Numbers  17  :  2; 
5  :  23;  2  Timothy  4  :  13;  Matthew  1  :  1;  1  Thessalo- 
nians  3  :  6f.;  1  Peter  5  :  12;  2  Thessalonians  3  :  17; 
Romans  16  :  1,  22;  1  Corinthians  1  :  14;  16  :  21;  Acts 
18  :  27 ;  Colossians  4  :  18. 

Milligan,  "  New  Testament  Documents,"  pp.  3-32. 

Gregory,  "  Canon  and  Text  of  the  New  Testament," 
pp.  299-338. 

Souter,  "  Text  and  Canon  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp. 
3-9. 

Price,  "  Ancestry  of  English  Bible,"  pp.  20-26;  131-134. 

Hunting,  "  Story  of  Our  Bible."  pp.  225-233. 

Hastings,  *'  Dictionary  of  Bible,"  1  vol.  ed.,  art.  "  Writ- 
ing," pp.  978-981. 

Hastings,  "  Diet,  of  Apost.  Church,"  vol.  H,  art. 
"  Writing,"  pp.  699-704. 

"  Standard  Bible  Diet.,"  art.  "  Books  and  Writing,"  pp. 
106-108. 

The  art  of  writing  developed  early  in  ancient  Israel,  as 
the  numerous  references  to  books  have  already  suggested. 


30  Makers  of  the  Bible 

The  first  mention  of  writing  in  the  Old  Testament  is 
found  at  the  end  of  the  story  of  Israel's  conflict  with 
Amalek  at  Rephidim,  when  Moses  is  commanded  to  write 
in  a  book  Jehovah's  determination  to  blot  out  the  hated 
foe.  (Exod.  17  :  14.)  After  the  conquest  of  Ai  Joshua 
is  said  to  have  written  upon  the  stones  of  the  altar  at 
Ebal  a  copy  of  the  law  of  Moses.  (Josh.  8  :  32.)  Later, 
when  the  distribution  of  unoccupied  territory  was  to  be 
made  to  the  seven  tribes  whose  inheritance  had  not  been 
assigned,  Joshua  appointed  three  men  from  each  of  these 
tribes  to  form  an  apportioning  body.  This  commission 
examined  the  district  and  "  described  it  by  cities  into 
seven  portions  in  a  book"  (Josh.  18  :  1-10).  A  similar 
reflection  of  early  familiarity  with  writing  is  found  in 
the  incident  of  Gideon's  capture  of  a  young  man  of  Suc- 
coth,  who  "  described  (marg.,  wrote  down)  for  him  the 
princes  of  Succoth,  and  the  elders  thereof,  seventy  and 
seven  men"  (Judg.  8  :  14).  Instances  multiply  rapidly 
as  one  reads  through  the  pages  of  the  Bible.  David 
"wrote  a  letter  to  Joab "  (2  Sam.  11  :  14),  Jezebel 
"  wrote  letters  in  Ahab's  name  and  sealed  them  with  his 
seal  "  (1  Kings  21  :  8),  Isaiah  and  Habakkuk  wrote  upon 
placards  (Isa.  8  :  2  and  Hab.  2:2),  Jeremiah  sent  a 
letter  to  the  exiles  in  their  captivity  (Jer.  29  :  1),  Luke 
wrote  to  Theophilus  (Luke  1  :  3f.),  Paul  to  his  churches 
(Gal.  6  :  11),  and  the  Revelator  penned  his  matchless 
vision-book  for  the  assurance  and  inspiration  of  his  fellow 
Christians  in  their  hour  of  trial.  (Rev.  1:4.) 

But  more  instructive  than  these  suggestions  of  ability 
to  use  the  pen  are  those  reflections  of  possible  centers 
of  literary  activity  and  classes  of  writers  with  at 
least  a  semipublic  function.  The  name  Kiriath-Sepher 
(Judg.   1  :  11)    hints  at  familiarity  with  writings,  the 


The  Writers  of  the  Bible  31 

name  in  another  place  actually  being  translated  by  the 
Septuagint  "city  of  records"  (Josh.  15  :  15).  Again, 
the  expression  "  the  marshal's  staff,"  in  the  revised  ver- 
sion of  Judges  5  :  14,  is  translated  in  the  King  James 
Bible  "  the  pen  of  the  writer,"  with  a  marginal  note  ex- 
plaining the  Hebrew  as  meaning  "  drawe  with  the  pen."  ^ 
The  Alexandrian  Greek  version  in  this  passage  uses  an 
expression  which  means  a  writer  of  narrative,  while 
modern  scholarship  has  sometimes  rendered  it,  with  the 
margin,  the  "  staff  of  the  scribe."  ^  But  even  if,  with  the 
most  recent  interpretation  of  the  expression,  we  make  it 
mean  simply  *'  the  muster-master's  staff,"  ^  it  will  still 
refer  to  a  military  officer  whose  duty  it  was  to  enroll 
troops,  and  this  implies  some  sort  of  writing,  to  say  the 
least. 

Once  more,  there  were  court  officials  in  the  time  of 
David  and  Solomon  who  were  called  recorders,  or  "  re- 
membrancers," and  scribes,  and  who  would  probably  have 
to  be  familiar  with  writings.  (2  Sam.  8  :  16f.  and  20  : 
23-25;  1  Kings  4:3.)  And  in  the  time  of  the  divided 
kingdom  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  Hezekiah's  talented  scribe, 
Shebna  (2  Kings  18  :  18,  Z7),  who,  because  he  was 
somewhat  of  a  linguist  (Isa.  36  :  11)  and  therefore  pre- 
sumably gifted  with  an  instinct  for  literature,  may  well 
have  been  in  charge  of  the  "  men  of  Hezekiah,"  while 
they  were  engaged  in  the  task  of  transcribing  and  perhaps 
arranging  the  proverbs  attributed  to  Solomon.  (Prov. 
25  :  1.)  Still  later  the  work  of  the  royal  scribe  became 
so  important  and  extensive  as  to  justify  his  having  a 
special  chamber,  or  office  (Jer.  36  :  10-12,  20  f.),  while 

^  Cambridge  Reprint  of  the  Authorized  Version  of  1611,  Vol  II,  p.  70. 
2  Barton,  in  "Biblical  World,"  Vol.   V,   p.    127;   Price,   "Ancestry  of  En- 
glish Bible,"  p.  22. 
^  Moore,  "International  Critical  Commentary  on  Judges,"  p.   150. 


Z2 


Makers  of  the  Bible 


in  the  "  writer's  inkhorn  "  of  Ezekiel  (Ezek.  9  :  2)  is  re- 
flected the  class  of  professional  scribes  of  that  early  day. 

And  in  the  New  Testament  a  similar  suggestion  may 
be  found.  Paul  composes  and  dictates  such  a  master- 
piece of  argument  as  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  first 
Gospel  is  a  fine  piece  of  argument  in  narrative  form,* 
Luke  is  producing  a  comprehensive  and  orderly  account 
of  the  life  of  Christ  (Luke  1:3),  and  the  author  of 
Revelation  brings  out  a  book  of  artistic  worth  and  literary 
beauty  which  he  dares  to  call  a  work  of  prophecy.  (Rev. 
1  :  3  and  22  :  7.) 

Thus  there  is  abundant  evidence  in  the  Bible  that  its 
authors  were  not  only  able  to  do  the  mechanical  work  of 
writing,  but  were  also  men  of  fine  instinct  for  literature 
and  a  high  degree  of  literary  ability.  Care  must  be  taken, 
of  course,  not  to  think  of  the  Biblical  writers  as  moved 
chiefly  by  the  literary  impulse,  for  the  Bible  is  above  all 
else  religious  in  emphasis  and  purpose.  But  if  literature 
is  the  sublimate  of  human  experience,  then  we  may  not 
deny  literary  character  to  this  volume,  which  has  grown 
up  out  of  the  soil  of  human  experience.  Yet  the  interest 
is  just  now  in  another  phase  of  the  character  of  the  Bible, 
and  these  questions  arise:  When  Biblical  authors  wrote 
their  books,  what  instruments  and  materials  did  they  use  ? 
In  the  preparation  of  their  works  for  the  public  did  they 
do  the  actual  writing  with  their  own  hands,  or  did  they 
dictate  to  a  scribe  ? 

There  are  relatively  but  few  suggestions  in  the  Bible 
of  the  instruments  and  materials  of  writing,  but  these  few 
are  worthy  of  notice.  Reference  has  been  made  to  the 
"  writer's  inkhorn  "  of  Ezekiel,  which  tells  plainly  of  the 
use  of  ink.    In  Jeremiah  36  :  18  ink  is  mentioned  again, 

*  Burton,  "Short  Introduction,"  pp.  12-14. 


The  Writers  of  the  Bible  33 

when  Baruch,  asked  how  he  had  written  all  these  words, 
with  becoming  modesty  replied,  "  I  wrote  them  w4th  ink 
in  the  book."  The  verse  is  not  free  from  question,  how- 
ever. Some  Hebrew  scholars  suggest  that  instead  of 
"  with  ink "  we  should  read  *'  with  my  hand."  This 
change  is  advised  because  the  princes  could  easily  see 
what  writing  fluid  the  scribe  had  used,  and  Baruch  wanted 
to  distinguish  between  Jeremiah's  part  and  his  own  in 
the  production  of  the  book.®  Moreover,  the  Septuagint 
version  renders  this  clause  simply,  "  and  I  wrote  them 
in  a  book."  Pens,  too,  are  reflected  as  instruments  of 
writing  in  such  passages  as  Psalm  45  :  1  and  Isaiah 
8  :  1  and  others,  while  in  3  ^laccabees  4  :  20  the  expres- 
sion *'  writing  pens  "  occurs.  So  also  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment we  find  familiar  mention  of  both  these  things.  "  Ye 
are  an  epistle  of  Christ,"  says  Paul,  ''  written  not  with 
ink,  but  with  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God  "  (2  Cor.  3:3). 
In  Second  and  Third  John,  again,  paper  and  ink  are  men- 
tioned, and  also  ink  and  pen  (2  John,  ver.  12,  and  3  John, 
ver.  13),  this  last  passage  being  Hterally,  "  with  black  and 
reed,"  thus  suggesting  a  common  black  ink  and  an  ordi- 
nary reed-pen.  And  these  reflections  of  writing  materials 
in  the  New  Testament  find  abundant  illustration  and 
support  in  the  Greek  papyri  of  the  period,  one  of  the 
most  striking  being  found  in  an  Oxyrhynchus  papyrus, 
II,  326,  ^'  I  have  set  before  the  dear  mother  the  ink  pot 
and  the  pens."  ® 

The  materials  upon  which  ancient  books  were  written, 
however,  is  a  more  interesting  subject  and  richer  in  sug- 
gestions. The  common  word  for  book  and  the  terms  used 
of  writings  and  books  make  one  think  of  a  pliable  mate- 

'  Brown,  "  American  Commentary  on  Jeremiah,"  p.  193. 
'  Cited  by  Brooke  in  "  International  Critical  Commentary  nn  The  Johan. 
nine  Epistles,"  p,  104. 


34  Makers  of  the  Bible 

rial.  Hezekiah  ''spread"  his  letter  before  Jehovah  (Isa. 
37  :  14),  a  term  which  suggests  something  that  could  be 
rolled  and  unrolled.  And  the  book  from  which  Jesus 
read  that  Sabbath  day  in  the  synagogue  at  Capernaum 
was  undoubtedly  written  upon  a  pliable  material,  as  is 
implied  by  the  word  translated  "  closed  "  (Luke  4  :  20), 
which  may  be  rendered  literally  "  rolled  up."  '^  Such  rolls 
are  well  illustrated  in  the  Aramaic  papyri  from  Elephan- 
tine. These  are  papyrus  documents  of  various  sorts  pre- 
served from  a  Jewish  colony  in  Egypt  in  the  fifth  cen- 
tury B.  C.  They  bear  abundant  witness  to  the  fact  that 
these  Jews  had  vitally  entered  into  the  life  of  Egypt,  as 
Jeremiah  told  the  captives  in  Babylon  they  should  do 
there.  (Jer.  29  :  5-7.)  These  documents  testify  to  the 
solidarity  of  the  peoples  of  Biblical  lands,  and  from  the 
point  of  view  of  this  study  reveal  the  wide-spread  use  of 
papyrus  for  purposes  of  writing.  A  possible  reflection 
of  this  writing  material  is  found  ii^  an  allusion  to  the 
washing  out  of  portions  of  magical  formulae,  like  that 
implied  in  Numbers  5  :  23,  as  washing  out  writing  was 
one  way  of  making  erasures  on  papyrus.  It  is  sometimes 
felt  that  if  the  "  scribe's  knife,"  used  so  destructively  by 
the  king  on  Jeremiah's  roll  (Jer.  36  :  23),  was  the  in- 
strument for  making  erasures,  then  probably  the  material 
of  the  roll  was  leather.  But  papyrus  when  freshly  made 
was  not  the  brittle,  fragile  material  we  know  it  to  be 
today,  but  rather  durable,  especially  when  not  exposed 
to  dampness.^  Hence  papyrus  is  not  excluded  by  the 
reference  to  an  erasing-knife  from  the  possibilities  for 
Jeremiah's  roll.  A  more  definite  suggestion  of  it,  how- 
ever, comes  from  a  Greek  word  in  the  New  Testament 

''  Plummer,  "  International  Critical  Commentary  on  Luke,"  p.  122. 
^  Milligan,  "  New  Testament  Documents,"  p.  176. 


The  Writers  of  the  Bible  35 

translated  ''book,"  as  in  Matthew  1:1,  hihlos,  the  name 
of  the  pith  of  the  papyrus  reed. 

This  reed-plant  had  a  triangular  stalk,  which  was  cut 
into  any  convenient  lengths  for  the  purpose  in  mind. 
The  pith  of  these  lengths  was  next  sliced  into  thin  strips 
which  were  fastened  edge  to  edge  until  a  sheet  of  suf- 
ficient width  was  formed.  Another  sheet  similarly  made 
was  then  placed  over  the  first  with  its  fibers  at  right 
angles  to  those  of  the  under  sheet.  The  two  layers,  some- 
times possibly  with  a  sort  of  glue  between,  were  pressed 
together  to  form  a  single  sheet  and  left  in  the  sun  to  dry. 
Then  one  side  was  scraped  with  a  shell  or  piece  of 
glass  to  remove  any  undue  roughness.  In  addition,  the 
nicer  pieces  were  rubbed  with  ivory,  or  were  hammered, 
before  being  ready  for  use.  This  was  the  common  writ- 
ing material  of  late  antiquity,  and  probably  many  copies 
of  different  portions  of  the  Old  Testament  were  made  on 
it.  True,  copies  in  any  sense  official,  for  the  synagogue, 
say,  would  probably  be  made  on  skins,  if  the  requirement 
of  the  Talmud  that  copies  of  the  Law  should  be  written 
on  skins  ®  reflects  ancient  tradition.  In  the  case  of  the 
Greek  Old  Testament  and  the  New  Testament,  however, 
it  is  more  than  likely  that  papyrus  was  the  material  upon 
which  the  original  copies  were  written.^^ 

But  we  must  pass  on  to  elicit  from  the  Bible  its  in- 
cidental testimony  upon  the  question  of  how  the  writers 
performed  the  task  of  writing,  whether  they  served  as 
their  own  scribes,  using  the  pen  themselves,  or  dictated 
to  amanuenses. 

In  the  Old  Testament  the  character  of  First  and  Second 
Kings  (considered  as  one  book)  would  suggest  that  the 

^Kenyon,  art.  "Writing"  in  Hastings'  "Bible  Dictionary,"  IV,  p.  945. 

^"^  Swete,    "Introduction    to    Old   Testament   in   Greek,"    p.    225;    Kenyon, 
"  Textual  Criticism  of  the  New  Testament,"  2  ed.,  p.  25f. 


36  Makers  of  the  Bible 

writer  was  his  own  penman.  We  have  seen  that  the  man 
who  put  the  book  in  its  present  form  had  recourse  to  the 
histories  of  Solomon  and  the  kings  of  Israel  and  Judah. 
This  naturally  divided  his  work  into  three  great  sections : 
(1)  1  Kings  1  to  11,  about  Solomon;  (2)  1  Kings  12 
to  2  Kings  17,  about  the  divided  monarchy;  (3)  2  Kings 
18  to  25,  about  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  In  the  first  and 
third  sections,  when  treating  of  a  single  kingdom,  he 
employs  a  simple  method,  dealing  with  the  events  of 
Solomon's  reign  and  those  of  the  successive  kings  of 
Judah.  But  in  the  second  section,  where  he  has  to  bring 
together  the  separate  accounts  of  two  parallel  kingdoms, 
he  begins  with  the  first  king  of  the  northern  kingdom 
and  continues  the  story  of  this  king's  reign  to  its  close. 
Then  he  goes  over  to  Judah  and  brings  down  the  story 
of  the  southern  kingdom  to  the  end  of  the  first  three 
reigns,  which  are  contemporary,  the  last  one  only  about 
two  years,  however,  with  the  northern  king  whose  story 
he  has  already  narrated.  Again  he  returns  to  Israel  for 
the  story  of  the  six  kings  whose  reigns  coincide  with 
that  of  the  last  king  of  Judah  he  has  mentioned.  And 
so  he  continues  alternating  between  Israel  and  Judah 
through  the  period  of  the  dual  monarchy,  with  some 
modifications  where  necessary,  as  when  Jehu  slew  the 
reigning  heads  of  both  kingdoms  and  as  when  the  writer 
stops  to  insert  material  referring  to  such  prophets  as 
Elijah  and  Elisha. 

From  this  it  would  seem  most  reasonable  to  think  of 
the  writer  as  doing  his  own  writing.  He  gathers  the 
materials  of  his  history  from  such  sources  as  have  been 
suggested  in  a  previous  chapter,  himself  supplying  the 
framework  in  which  he  so  skilfully  arranges  the  extracts. 
At  the  same  time  he  weaves  in  his  own  judgments  of  the 


The  Writers  of  the  Bible  2>7 

various  kings  and  their  doings,  uniformly  adverse  in  the 
case  of  the  northern  -kings,  v^hile  sometimes  favorable  in 
the  case  of  Judah's  rulers.  In  some  such  way  he  com- 
posed his  great  history,  writing  it  with  his  own  hand,  to 
show  how  disobedience  of  the  law  of  Jehovah  brought 
condemnation  upon  the  nation  while  obedience  won  divine 
approval  and  blessing. 

In  the  New  Testament  the  Gospel  of  Luke  will  perhaps 
furnish  an  example  of  this  same  sort  of  direct  writing 
by  the  author.  As  Professor  Goodspeed  points  out,^^  the 
first  Christian  teachers  undoubtedly  taught  their  converts 
the  chief  facts  of  the  birth,  public  ministry,  death,  and 
resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  so  formed  the  outlines 
of  what  is  now  called  the  gospel  story.  But  in  matters 
of  detail  those  first  recitals  and  early  written  accounts 
probably  differed  materially  from  one  another  and  so 
caused  some  perplexity  to  later  and  more  discriminating 
converts  and  Evangelists.  Among  such  we  may  count 
Luke,  Paul's  physician-friend.  In  the  preface  to  his 
Gospel  he  seems  dissatisfied  with  the  somewhat  numer- 
ous and  perhaps  fragmentary  accounts  of  the  life  of 
Jesus  current  in  his  day.  He  carefully  sifts  the  details 
of  gospel  narrative  and  tradition  and  arranges  his  chosen 
materials  with  such  skill  as  to  construct  a  comprehensive 
and  trustworthy  record  of  the  life  of  Jesus  for  the  in- 
struction and  inspiration  of  his  fellow  Christians.  And 
if  Kenyon's  suggestion  of  an  author's  autograph  copy  in 
this  instance  be  accepted,  this,  together  with  the  character 
of  the  Gospel,  will  more  readily  make  one  feel  that  Luke 
did  his  own  writing.^^  "  It  is  not  hard  to  see  the  pile 
of  notes  of  conversation  or  investigation  lying  near  at 

"  "  Story  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp.  63,  64. 
^  Kenyon,  "  Textual  Criticism,"  p.  33. 


38  Makers  of  the  Bible 

hand.  Here  are  papyri  rolls  of  previous  monographs  on 
various  phases  of  the  life  of  Christ.  Luke  himself  sits  by 
his  own  small  desk  with  his  own  roll  spread  out  before 
him.  He  writes  after  he  has  gotten  ready  to  write  and 
with  all  available  data  at  hand."  ^^ 

On  the  other  hand,  dictation  is  clearly  reflected  in  the 
pages  of  the  Bible.  In  the  Old  Testament  the  book  of 
Jeremiah  furnishes  a  conspicuous  instance  of  this  method. 
In  the  critical  year  of  604  B.  C.  the  prophet  finds  him- 
self excluded  from  the  temple,  for  some  unexplained 
reason.  Yet  he  feels  impelled  to  tell  the  people  his  con- 
viction of  the  nation's  duty  in  the  national  crisis  which 
is  upon  them.  He  therefore  sets  about  the  God-given 
task  of  putting  his  messages  into  written  form,  hoping 
apparently  thus  to  reach  the  public  conscience  and  arouse 
the  people  to  the  need  of  mending  their  ways.  Like 
many  another  Oriental,  the  prophet  resorted  to  a  scribe, 
one  of  his  disciples,  Baruch  by  name,  who  was  in  all 
probability  a  good  penman.  The  roll  was  not  long,  for 
it  seems  to  have  been  read  three  times  in  one  day  to 
people,  princes,  and  king.  But  the  writing  of  even  a 
short  roll  drew  the  admiration  of  the  princes,  to  whose 
wondering  question  the  scribe  replied  briefly,  "  He  pro- 
nounced all  these  words  unto  me  with  his  mouth,  and 
I  wrote  them  with  ink  in  the  book  "  (Jer.  Z6  :  18).  Kent 
has  pictured  the  scene :  ^* 

In  some  quiet  corner  of  Jerusalem  or  Anathoth  sat  Jeremiah, 
now  in  the  prime  of  life,  but  old  in  experience,  recalling  his  words 
uttered  at  earlier  crises.  Before  him,  with  pen  and  parchment 
in  hand,  sat  his  devoted  friend  and  disciple,  eagerly  writing  down 

"Robertson,  "Biblical  Review,"  April,  1920,  p.  172. 

"  "  Kings  and  Prophets  of  Israel  and  Judah,"  Historical  Bible,  Vol.  Ill, 
P-  251. 


The  Writers  of  the  Bible  39 

his  words  and  perhaps  assisting  in  that  revision  which  has  left 
these  earlier  sermons  of  Jeremiah  the  most  finished  poems  in  the 
Old  Testament. 

The  same  practise  is  reflected  in  the  New  Testament. 
Somewhere  about  spring,  A.  D.  50,  Paul  reached  Corinth 
on  his  second  missionary  journey,  to  spend,  as  it  now 
appears,  some  eighteen  months  in  evangelistic  work  there. 
During  this  time  he  had  occasion  to  write  a  couple  of 
letters  to  his  Christian  friends  and  followers  in  Thessa- 
lonica.  Silvanus  and  Timothy  had  just  reached  him  with 
word  from  Macedonia,  the  latter  bringing  an  encouraging 
report  of  the  constancy  of  the  Thessalonians.  (1  Thess. 
3  :  6f.)  Hence  Paul  sent  a  letter  ofif  to  Thessalonica. 
Soon,  however,  it  became  necessary  to  send  a  second  one 
in  order  to  correct  some  false  impressions  made  by  the 
first.  These  two  letters  were  probably  dictated  to  Sil- 
vanus, one  of  Paul's  companions.  At  least  he  is  joined 
with  Paul  and  Timothy  in  the  salutation,  and  if  we  may 
identify  him  with  the  individual  of  the  same  name  in 
1  Peter  5  :  12,  he  appears  later  as  Peter's  amanuensis. 
But  reasonable  assurance  that  Paul  dictated  is  reached 
when  we  come  to  the  end  of  this  second  letter  to  the 
Thessalonians  and  find  the  words,  "  The  salutation  of 
me  Paul  with  mine  own  hand,  which  is  the  token  in 
every  epistle  "  (2  Thess.  3  :  17). 

A  clearer  instance  of  Paul's  practise  in  this  regard  may 
be  found  in  what  we  now  know  as  the  sixteenth  chapter 
of  Rom.ans.  The  scene  of  that  chapter  is  laid  at  the  home 
of  Gains  in  Corinth,  or  Cenchrese  its  port,  probably  the 
same  person  as  the  Gains  of  1  Corinthians  1  :  14.  In 
the  company  is  at  least  one  influential  public  official, 
Erastus.  The  precise  conditions  under  which  the  dicta- 
tion was  given  are  not  clear.     Gregory  makes  the  pas- 

D 


40  Makers  of  the  Bible 

sage  refer  to  the  dictation  of  the  letter  to  the  Romans,  a 
long  task  in  the  course  of  which  there  may  have  been 
some  interruptions.^^  The  chapter  is  better  considered, 
on  the  other  hand,  as  a  part  of  a  letter  of  introduction 
for  Phoebe  to  Paul's  Ephesian  friends.^®  This  letter, 
similar  perhaps  to  that  written  on  behalf  of  Apollos 
(Acts  18  :  27),  was  dictated  by  Paul  to  Tertius,  who 
took  occasion  to  insert  his  own  greeting  along  with  Paul's 
to  the  friends  in  Ephesus.  (Rom.  16  :  22.)  It  is  just  pos- 
sible, of  course,  that  Tertius  is  merely  copying  a  letter 
written  by  Paul  himself,  yet,  when  taken  in  connection 
with  other  reflections  of  Paul's  habit  of  dictation,  the 
passage  suggests  that  the  apostle  is  here  dictating.  So 
also  in  1  Corinthians  16  :  21  and  Colossians  4  :  18  Paul 
refers  to  his  own  writing  of  the  greeting  in  such  a  way 
as  to  imply  that  he  had  dictated  the  body  of  the  letter. 

There  are,  however,  passages  which  may  show  that  at 
times  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  did  the  actual 
work  of  writing  himself.  In  that  most  personal  and  inti- 
mate of  all  his  letters,  To  Philemon,  he  says,  "  I  Paul 
write  it  with  mine  own  hand,"  though  these  words  may 
refer  only  to  the  next  four,  Paul's  "  promissory  note,"  "  I 
will  repay  it  "  (Philemon,  ver.  19).  The  words  in  Gala- 
tians  6  :  11  are  more  difficult.  Some  have  felt  that  they 
refer  to  what  goes  before,  thus  pointing  to  a  somewhat 
lengthy  letter  in  the  apostle's  own  hand,  the  reason  for 
his  laborious  task  in  this  instance  being  his  own  sense 
of  delicacy  in  wanting  no  intermediary  at  all  between 
himself  and  those  he  feels  compelled  to  scold  so  sharply." 
On  the  contrary  and  more  probably,  if  the  statement  in 

^"5 "  Canon  and  Text  of  the  New  Testament,"  p.  302. 
'«  Cf .  Goodspeed,  "  Story  of  the  New  Testament,"  p.  33. 
"  Milligan,  "  New  Testament  Documents,"  p.  24, 


The  Writers  of  the  Bible  41 

this  verse  refers  only  to  the  closing  words  of  the  epistle, 
they  constitute  another  instance  of  the  apostle's  own 
writing,  this  time  in  a  bolder  hand  than  the  scribe's  writ- 
ing, perhaps  humorously,  for  the  purpose  of  impressing 
both  reader  and  congregation/^  In  whichever  way  the 
verse  is  interpreted,  it  seems  clear  that  Paul's  usual  prac- 
tise was  to  dictate,  signing  the  letters  in  his  own  hand  as 
was  the  custom  of  the  day. 

Many  illustrations  of  dictation  as  a  common  practise 
of  antiquity  abound  both  in  non-Christian  documents  and 
in  early  Christian  writers  a  little  later  than  the  period 
of  the  New  Testament.  There  is  extant  a  papyrus  letter 
dating  from  about  A.  D.  50  from  an  Egyptian  olive 
planter,  Mystarion,  commending  his  messenger  to  one 
Stotoetes,  in  which  the  change  of  handwriting  in  the 
closing  word,  ''  Farewell,"  seems  to  indicate  Mystarion's 
own  hand.^^  Again,  an  Oxyrhynchus  letter  of  about 
A.  D.  95  is  dictated,  the  sender  authenticating  it  by  adding 
at  the  close,  "  I,  Heraclas,  have  signed."  ^^  And  Eusebius, 
the  historian  of  the  early  church,  tells  us  that  Origen 
dictated  "  to  more  than  seven  amanuenses,  who  relieved 
each  other  at  appointed  times."  ^^ 

What  now,  in  a  word,  is  the  meaning  of  all  this?  On 
very  ordinary  materials  and  with  the  common  writing 
instruments  of  every-day  life  our  Bible  was  written. 
Moreover,  its  writers  were  left  free  to  follow  each  his 
own  method.  They  were  human  and  subject  to  the  limita- 
tions of  our  human  kind.  They  not  only  had  to  use  their 
powers  of  observation,  judgment,  imagination,  in  order 
to  express  the  truth  as  they  felt  God  gave  it  to  them, 

M  Cf.  Burton,  "  International  Critical  Commentary  on  Galatians,"  p.  348. 

^®  Dcissmann,  "Light  from  the  Ancient  East,"  p.  157. 

2"  Milligan,  "  Greek  Papyri,"  p.  25. 

-^  "  Church  History,"  Bk.  vi,  ch.  23  :  2. 


42  Makers  of  the  Bible 

but  they  were  restricted  also  to  the  use  of  such  means 
of  expression  as  they  found  ready  at  hand.  This  means 
that  while  they  were  guided  in  the  selection  and  use  of 
material  for  teaching  special  lessons,  they  were  at  the 
same  time  compelled  to  exercise  the  powers  ordinarily 
employed  in  literary  composition.  The  human  and  divine 
elements  in  the  Bible  blend  in  harmony. 


IV 
EARLY  READERS  OF  THE  BIBLE 

Study  Outline 

1.  Find  as  many  reflections  in  the  Bible  as  you  can  of 
the  form  of  early  books. 

2.  Read  through  at  one  sitting,  aloud  if  possible,  any 
single  book  of  the  Bible.  Try  to  imagine  yourself  writ- 
ing it  by  hand  in  the  form  of  a  roll  about  twelve  inches 
in  height,  and  then  estimate  the  length  of  the  roll.  How 
long  a  roll  would  it  require  for  the  whole  Bible? 

3.  What  suggestions  of  the  circulation  of  the  different 
Biblical  writings  can  you  find  in  the  Bible?  Cf.  Acts  8  : 
28  and  15  :  21. 

4.  Notice  the  assignment  of  the  quotation  in  Mark 
1  :  2,  3  to  Isaiah  (or  to  "the  prophets");  find  the 
writers  there  quoted,  and  then  try  to  explain  Mark's 
confusion  of  the  authors  he  cites. 

5.  Read  2  Kings  22  and  23  carefully,  and  try  to  deter- 
mine the  length  of  the  law-book  there  reflected,  whether 
longer  or  shorter  than  our  present  Pentateuch. 

6.  Study  Nehemiah  8  to  10  and  try  to  determine  whether 
Ezra's  law-roll  was  longer  or  shorter  than  Josiah's. 

7.  Compare  Daniel  9  :  2  and  Luke  24  :  44,  and  then 
state  the  three  great  divisions  of  the  Hebrew  Bible,  learn- 
ing the  books  of  each. 

8.  Can  you  suggest  any  reasons  why  early  Christians 
should  collect  and  use  in  public  services  Paul's  letters,  the 
Gospels,  and  other  Christian  writings? 

43 


44  Makers  of  the  Bible 

9.  How  long  were  the  books  of  the  Bible  in  coming 
together  into  one  great  collection? 

Scripture  References  and  Helps 

Psalm  40  :  7 ;  2  Kings  19  :  14 ;  Ezekiel  2  :  9f . ;  Revela- 
tion 10:2;  5:1;  Jeremiah  36 :  23  ;  1  Maccabees  1 :  56-58 ; 
Luke  4  :  17-20;  Acts  8  :  28;  15  :  21 ;  13  :  15 ;  Revela- 
tion 1 :  3  ;  2  Peter  1:1;  Mark  1 :  2,  3  ;  2  Kings  22  and  23 ; 
2  Kings  22  :  8,  10;  23  :  2;  23  :  15-20;  Exodus  20  :  24; 
Leviticus  17  :  1-9;  Nehemiah  8  to  10;  Nehemiah  8  : 
13-18;  Deuteronomy  16  :  13-17;  Leviticus  23  :  36  marg. ; 
Daniel  9:2;  Jeremiah  25  :  12  and  29  :  10;  Luke  24  : 
44;  Colossians  4  :  16;  2  Peter  3  :  16. 

Milligan,  "  New  Testament  Documents,"  pp.  171-229. 

Souter,  ''  Text  and  Canon  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp. 
149-194. 

Goodspeed,  "  Story  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp.  137- 
144. 

Westcott,  "  The  Bible  in  the  Church,"  pp.  19-140. 

Price,  "  Ancestry  of  the  English  Bible,"  pp.  127-130. 

Ryle,  "  Canon  of  the  Old  Testament,"  pp.  47-94,  104- 
199."^ 

Robertson  Smith,  "  The  Old  Testament  in  the  Jewish 
Church,"  pp.  149-187. 

Conley,  "  The  Bible  in  Modern  Light,"  pp.  48-53. 

Dods,  "  The  Bible,  Its  Origin  and  Nature,"  pp.  33-59. 

Peake,  "  The  Bible :  Its  Origin,  Significance,  and  Abid- 
ing Worth,"  pp.  64-75. 

Standard  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  "  Bible,"  §§5,  6,  pp. 
100-102. 

Further  questions  about  our  Bible  press  for  answer. 
When  its  different  books  were  written,  how  were  they 


Early  Readers  of  the  Bible  45 

put  into  circulation  ?  To  answer  this  question  it  is  neces- 
sary to  ask  another:  What  was  Baruch's  book  hke  when 
finished,  and  Tertius',  and  all  the  rest  ? 

Our  study  of  writing  materials  led  to  the  suggestion  of 
the  roll-form  for  early  books.  Those  suggestions  may  be 
further  supplemented  by  more  definite  reflections  of  rolls. 
The  psalmist's  phrase  comes  first  to  mind,  "  In  the  roll 
of  the  book"  (Ps.  40  :  7).  Practically  the  same  expres- 
sion occurs,  as  we  have  already  seen,  in  that  famous  thirty- 
sixth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Jeremiah.  As  we  have  noted 
also,  Hezekiah's  letter  was  probably  in  the  form  of  a  roll, 
since  it  was  "  spread  "  before  Jehovah.  (2  Kings  19  :  14.) 
The  same  word  is  used  of  Ezekiel's  "  roll  of  a  book, 
written  within  and  without "  with  *'  lamentations  and 
mourning  and  woe"  (Ezek.  2  :  9f.).  The  same  form  of 
book  was  probably  in  the  mind  of  the  Revelator  as  he 
pictured  the  '*  little  book,"  opened,  in  the  hand  of  the 
cloud-clad  angel  from  heaven  (Rev.  10  :  2),  and  also 
the  close-sealed  book  of  the  future  in  the  right  hand  of 
heaven's  majestic  ruler  (Rev.  5  :  1),  in  all  likelihood 
doom-rolls  overfull  of  awful  things  soon  to  happen.^ 

In  these  and  other  similar  references  there  are  thus 
rather  plain  reflections  of  the  roll-book,  though  we  must 
be  prepared  to  admit  the  use  of  leaf-books  earlier  than 
was  once  thought  possible.  The  writing  on  rolls  was 
generally  in  columns  of  varying  width,  of  course,  but 
more  often  narrow,  and  generally  so  close  together  as 
to  allow  little  space  for  notes  except  at  the  top  and 
bottom.  In  Jeremiah  36  :  23  the  word  translated 
"  leaves  "  has  as  a  marginal  variant  the  word  "  columns," 
a  suggestion  of  column-writing  on  rolls.     This  form  of 

^  Cf.  Goodspeed,  "  Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,"  1903,  p.  74. 


46  Makers  of  the  Bible 

arranging  the  writing  made  reading  easier,  since  it  would 
thus  be  possible  to  have  several  columns  before  the  eye 
without  unrolling  too  much  of  the  roll  at  once. 

It  is  not  known  precisely  how  many  writings  in  every 
instance  were  put  up  in  one  roll.  A  few  large  rolls  are 
known  to  have  existed  but,  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the 
third  century  B.  C,  Callimachus,  an  Alexandrian  scholar, 
expressed  the  sentiment,^  "  A  big  book  is  a  big  nuisance." 
In  the  period  with  which  we  are  deahng  smaller  rolls  pre- 
dominated, and  the  common  practise  was  to  limit  a  roll 
to  a  single  work,  unless,  of  course,  it  was  very  short, 
or  too  long  to  be  put  on  a  single  roll  of  convenient  size. 

An  interesting  tradition  concerning  the  rolls  of  the  Old 
Testament  in  this  particular  comes  to  light  in  the  Jewish 
Talmud :  ^ 

Our  rabbis  taught:  It  is  not  forbidden  to  write  the  Law,  the 
Prophets,  and  the  Hagiographa  in  a  single  volume.  The  words 
of  Rabbi  Meir  were,  that  Rabbi  Jehudah  used  to  say,  "  The  Law 
should  be  written  separately,  and  the  Prophets  separately,  and 
the  Hagiographa  separately."  The  Wise  Men  also  used  to  say, 
each  book  should  be  written  separately. 

Other  passages  in  this  Jewish  literature  suggest  the  same 
thing,  and  it  is  clear  from  the  unwieldy  shape  of  rolls  that 
it  would  be  practically  impossible  to  combine  different 
works  of  any  length  in  a  single  roll. 

But  as  to  the  length  of  the  original  rolls  of  the  New 
Testament  it  is  now  possible  to  judge  with  a  fair  degree 
of  accuracy.  This  information  has  come  to  light  within 
the  present  generation  in  the  Greek  papyrus  manuscripts, 
many   of   which  have   been   found   and   brought  to   the 

2  Quoted  by  Putnam,  "  Authors  and  Their  Public  in  Ancient  Times," 
third  ed.,  p.  142. 

^  Quoted  by  Ryle,  "  Canon  of  the  Old  Testament,"  p.  235. 


Early  Readers  of  the  Bible  47 

museums  of  the  Western  world.  Sir  Frederick  Kenyon, 
of  the  British  Museum,  has  examined  a  great  many  of 
the  extant  papyri  and  has  ventured  to  estimate  the  prob- 
able lengths  of  the  New  Testament  rolls.  The  shortest 
New  Testament  books  might  have  been  written  upon  a 
single  sheet  of  papyrus  six  inches  wide  by  about  eleven 
inches  in  height.  Second  Thessalonians  would  require 
about  fifteen  inches  of  papyrus  of  the  same  height.  The 
remaining  letters  of  Paul  would  require  longer  and  longer 
rolls  up  to  nearly  twelve  feet  of  material  for  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans.  Kenyon  then  estimates  the  length  of  the 
roll  containing  the  book  of  Revelation  at  fifteen  feet; 
the  Gospel  of  Mark,  nineteen  feet;  John,  twenty-three 
feet  six  inches ;  Matthew,  thirty  feet ;  and  Luke  and  Acts, 
about  thirty-two  feet  each.  This  would  make  the  entire 
New  Testament,  if  put  into  a  single  roll-book,  a  roll  over 
two  hundred  feet  in  length,  pretty  clearly  prohibiting  any 
one's  having  a  copy  of  the  whole  New  Testament  in  that 
early  period.* 

Is  there  now  any  incidental  evidence  in  the  Bible  of 
the  circulation  of  these  rolls?  Naturally  one  thinks  first 
of  the  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  by  writers  of 
the  New  Testament  books,  and  such  a  use  presupposes 
the  circulation  of  books.  But  there  is  more  than  this. 
In  1  Maccabees  1  :  56-58  we  have  a  reflection  of  both 
public  and  private  copies  of  Jewish  Scriptures.  For  the 
emissaries  of  the  Syrian  king  not  only  destroyed  copies  of 
the  law  found  in  public  places,  but  also  ferreted  out 
those  people  who  treasured  such  Scriptures  in  private,  an 
unnecessary  proceeding  if  copies  of  the  law  were  not 
circulating  in  some  form  among  the  people.  Again,  when 
Jesus  returned  to   Galilee   from  the  Temptation  in  the 

*  Kenyon,  "  Criticism  of  the  New  Testament,"  second  ed.,  pp.  33-35. 


48  Makers  of  the  Bible 

power  of  the  Spirit  and  entered  the  synagogue  of  his 
home  town,  there  was  handed  to  him  a  roll  of  Isaiah, 
from  which  he  read,  then  "  rolled  [it]  up  "  and  handed 
it  back  to  the  attendant.  (Luke  4  :  17-20.)  Another 
copy  of  the  same  great  roll  was  perhaps  in  the  hands  of 
the  Ethiopian  as  he  pored  over  the  wonderful  messages 
of  the  fine  Prophet  of  the  Exile  while  journeying  home- 
ward along  the  desert  highway  from  Jerusalem  down  past 
Gaza.  (Acts  8  :  28.)  The  daily  examination  of  the 
Scriptures  by  the  Beroeans  suggests  more  than  a  public 
reading  from  a  single  official  copy,  and  so  the  circulation 
of  private  copies.  Once  more,  the  law  of  Moses  was 
widely  read  (Acts  15  :  21),  and  even  if  it  were  only 
the  public  reading  in  the  synagogue,  yet  it  was  "  in  every 
city,"  clearly  implying  the  multiplication  and  circulation 
of  copies  of  the  law.  The  same  is  also  true  of  the  prophets 
who  were  read  along  with  the  law.  (Acts  13  :  15.)  In 
a  similar  manner  the  book  of  Revelation  was  perhaps  ad- 
dressed to  a  wider  public  than  just  the  seven  churches  in 
Asia,  though  under  the  names  of  these  (Rev.  1:3), 
while  Second  Peter  is  clearly  not  a  letter  to  an  individual 
church,  but  a  tract  for  the  writer's  fellow  believers  any- 
where who  would  read  it.  (2  Peter  1:1.) 

These  and  other  indications  of  the  early  circulation 
of  the  books  of  the  Bible  are  abundantly  supported  by  the 
literature  of  the  later  church  and  show  us  that  as  among 
the  Jews  their  Scriptures  were  read  by  both  priest  and 
people,  so  among  both  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians  the 
public  and  private  use  of  the  Bible  continued  and  in- 
creased.^ 

Our  thought  thus  far  has  been  of  rolls  containing  en- 
tire books.    But  we  must  recognize  the  early  circulation 

^  Cf,  Harnack,  "Bible  Reading  in  the  Early  Church,"  pp.  31-47. 


Early  Readers  of  the  Bible  49 


of  rolls,  possibly  leaf-books  also,  which  contained  only 
extracts  from  diflferent  writings,  each  such  book  being  a 
sort  of  compendium  of  excerpts  upon  a  given  topic,  or 
group  of  related  topics.  In  the  "  Extracts  "  of  Melito, 
bishop  of  Sardis  near  the  end  of  the  second  century  A.  D., 
we  have  an  illustration  of  this  practise,  which  probably 
reaches  back  into  the  first  Christian  century,  if  not,  in- 
deed, into  prechristian  times.  These  books  of  excerpts 
would  be  brief  manuals  of  passages  gotten  together  for 
purposes  of  teaching  and  argument.  Melito's  words  are 
as  follows :  ^ 

Melito,  to  Onesimus,  his  brother,  greeting:  Since,  showing  your 
zeal  for  the  word,  you  often  asked  that  extracts  be  made  for  you 
from  both  the  law  and  the  prophets  concerning  the  Saviour  and 
all  our  faith,  and  besides  wished  to  learn  also  the  precise  truth 
of  the  ancient  books,  how  many  they  were  in  number  and  what 
their  order,  I  was  eager  to  perform  such  a  task. 

These  words  show  that  this  work  of  Melito's  was  a  col- 
lection of  testimonies  to  Christ  and  the  church  drawn 
from  the  Old  Testament.  There  were  others  like  it 
later  and  probably  also  earlier.  Indeed,  it  is  possible  that 
early  Christian  writers  had  access  to  such  "  Testimonia  " 
written  in  Hebrew  or  Aramaic.*^  At  any  rate,  the  circula- 
tion of  such  "  books  of  extracts  "  goes  far  to  explain  the 
confusion  in  citations  of  the  New  Testament  from  the 
Old  Testament  in  places  like  Mark  1  :  2,  3,  where  pas- 
sages from  Malachi  and  Isaiah  are  assigned  to  the  latter 
alone.  The  marginal  variant  in  Mark  at  these  verses, 
reading  "  in  the  prophets "  instead  of  "  in  Isaiah  the 
prophet,"  points  just  as  clearly  to  such  a  source  for  the 

*In  Eusebius,  "Church  History,"  IV,  26,  13. 

''  Moffatt,  "  Introduction  to  Literature  of  the  New  Testament,"  p.  24. 


50  Makers  of  the  Bible 

quotation :  as  if  the  author  had  found  it  in  a  book  of 
excerpts  from  the  prophets,  who  were  unnamed  in  the 
"  extracts."  The  same  explanation  serves  also  for  a 
similar  difficulty  in  Matthew  27  :  9. 

Moreover,  not  only  does  the  early  circulation  of  rolls 
make  it  possible  to  account  for  such  features  of  our 
Bible  as  have  been  mentioned,  but  it  also  lies  back  of  the 
collection  and  grouping  of  the  Biblical  books  in  their 
present  arrangement.  It  helps  us  to  understand  better 
the  early  stages  in  the  process  by  which  the  "  sixty-six 
books  "  were  slowly  gathered  together  and  made  into 
what  today  we  call  the  canon  of  Scripture. 

In  the  twenty-second  and  twenty-third  chapters  of 
Second  Kings  we  have  a  graphic  account  of  the  dis- 
covery of  a  '*  book  of  the  law  "  in  the  eighteenth  year 
of  Josiah.  The  book  was  found  in  the  course  of  some 
repairs  in  the  temple.  The  high  priest  recognized  the 
character  of  the  book  and  delivered  it  to  Shaphan,  the 
scribe.  The  latter  made  it  known  to  the  king,  who  was 
greatly  disturbed  at  its  condemnation  of  the  people  for 
forsaking  Jehovah.  Vigorous  measures  of  religious  re- 
form were  instituted  at  once :  a  public  covenant  was  en- 
tered into  between  king  and  people  to  confirm  the  words 
of  the  newly  found  law-book,  idolatry  with  all  its  abom- 
inations was  abolished,  and  an  elaborate  celebration  of 
the  Passover  was  observed,  such  as  had  not  been  known 
**  from  the  days  of  the  judges." 

What,  now,  was  this  book  of  the  law  ?  That  it  was  the 
entire  law  of  our  present  Pentateuch  seems  impossible. 
For  this  new-found  law-book  was  apparently  read  through 
at  least  twice  in  one  day,  since  the  narrative  seems  to  leave 
no  room  for  intervening  days  between  the  readings. 
(2  Kings  22  :  8,  10.)     Then  it  was  read  again  to  the 


Early  Readers  of  the  Bible  51 

assembled  people.  (2  Kings  23  :  2.)  Moreover,  Josiah's 
reforms  carried  out^  not  the  requirements  of  all  the  Pen- 
tateuchal  laws,  but  only  of  those  in  our  present  book  of 
Deuteronomy.  In  fact,  some  parts  of  the  Pentateuch  con- 
tain laws  which  conflict  with  those  that  guided  Josiah's 
reforms.  The  one  item  of  the  proper  place  for  offering 
sacrifice  will  suffice  for  illustration.  In  Deuteronomy  it 
is  to  be  at  Jerusalem,  and  Josiah  orders  the  destruction 
of  outside  places  of  worship.  (2  Kings  23  :  15-20.)  But 
in  Exodus  20  :  24  and  Leviticus  17  :  1-9  the  place  of 
sacrifice  is  not  thus  limited.  Hence,  when  we  read  this 
realistic  account  of  the  finding  of  this  particular  book  of 
the  law,  of  the  effect  of  its  being  read  upon  both  king 
and  people,  and  of  the  changes  that  took  place  compared 
with  the  commands  in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  we  are 
led  to  believe  that  Josiah's  book  of  the  law  thus  clearly 
described  in  the  Bible  was  a  short  roll  comparable  in 
length  to  the  nucleus  of  the  present  fifth  book  of  the 
Pentateuch. 

There  is,  however,  another  law-book  reflected  in  the 
pages  of  our  Bible.  For  this  we  have  to  come  down 
nearly  two  hundred  years  later  to  the  time  of  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah.  In  chapters  8  to  10  of  the  book  of  Nehe- 
miah  we  find  another  account  of  a  public  reading  from 
"the  book  of  the  law  of  Moses,"  "the  book  of  the 
law  of  God."  What  was  this  book  of  the  law?  Until 
the  reading  of  this  law  the  people  had  not  known  the 
details  of  the  proper  celebration  of  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles. (Neh.  8  :  13-18.)  The  law  in  Deuteronomy  had 
not  required  the  people  to  dwell  in  booths  for  the  cele- 
bration of  the  feast  (Deut.  16  :  13-17),  while  here  this 
feature  of  the  observance  becomes  an  important  element 
in  it,  a  thing  the  people  had  not  done  "  since  the  days  of 


52  Makers  of  the  Bible 

Joshua  the  son  of  Nun"  (Neh.  8  :  17).  Again,  Deuter- 
onomy required  just  seven  days  for  the  feast  (Deut. 
16  :  13-15),  while  the  Levitical  law  adds  an  eighth  day 
as  a  "  closing  festival  "  (Lev.  23  :  36  marg.).  Hence  the 
inference  is  rather  plain  that  Ezra's  book  of  the  law  is 
of  larger  content  than  the  earlier  law-book  of  the  people. 
And  if  this  be  true,  it  helps  to  explain  the  addition  of 
other  elements,  until  in  the  course  of  time  that  which 
began  as  prophetic  interpretation  of  the  nation's  history 
and  reformation  of  popular  laws  was  brought  to  com- 
pletion through  scribal  expansion  into  the  *'  Law  "  par 
excellence. 

So  far  as  the  further  collection  of  Old  Testament  writ- 
ings is  concerned  there  is  but  one  brief  reflection  in  the 
pages  of  the  Bible,  a  glimpse  of  another  devout  Jew  pour- 
ing over  his  sacred  books.  In  Daniel  9  :  2  the  seer  is 
puzzled  over  the  discrepancy  between  the  exile  of  Israel 
and  the  promises  of  its  restoration.  He  is  therefore  pon- 
dering Jeremiah's  words.  (Cf.  Jer.  25  :  12;  29  :  10.) 
It  is  just  a  suggestion  that  "  the  books,"  to  which  he  thus 
casually  refers,  were  well  known  to  his  readers,  and  that 
they  included  at  least  the  prophecies  of  Jeremiah.  And  if 
one  prophet  has  come  to  be  included  among  "  the  books," 
why  may  not  others  have  been  also?  There  is  evidence 
that  this  was  actually  the  case,  though  the  information 
does  not  lie  in  our  Bible.  It  is  found  in  one  of  the  so- 
called  apocryphal  books.  x\bout  180  B.  C.  the  Wisdom 
of  Sirach  was  written,  probably  in  Aramaic.  About  fifty 
years  later  the  grandson  of  the  author  translated  this 
work  into  Greek  and  added  a  prologue  of  his  own.  In 
this  prologue  we  find  mention  three  times  over  of  the 
prophets  as  the  second  group  of  a  threefold  division  of 
the  Hebrew  Scriptures.    And  in  the  Gospel  of  Luke  the 


Early  Readers  of  the  Bible  53 

same  threefold  collection  of  sacred  Scriptures  comes  be- 
fore us  in  the  words  of  Jesus,  "  the  law  of  Moses,  and 
the  prophets,  and  the  psalms  "  (Luke  24  :  44). 

There  is  no  reflection  in  the  New  Testament  of  the 
collection  of  its  books  into  an  authoritative  body  of  Scrip- 
ture. Reason  therefor  is  not  wanting.  Christians  of 
the  first  century  did  not  seem  to  regard  their  own  writ- 
ings as  of  equal  authority  and  importance  with  those  of 
the  Old  Testament.  They  would  not  therefore  begin 
the  task  of  collecting  the  new  writings,  at  least  in  any 
formal  manner,  for  the  purpose  of  using  them  in  public. 
Of  course,  when  a  letter  from  Paul  was  received  by  a 
church  it  was  probably  put  away  to  be  reread,  or  to  be 
copied  for  some  individual  or  another  church.  In  fact, 
Paul  so  directs  at  least  once.  (Col.  4  :  16.)  Perhaps 
it  was  still  too  early  for  the  general  exchange  of  letters 
between  churches,  and  individual  reading  of  letters  would 
not  become  wide-spread  until  Christianity  embraced  more 
of  those  who  had  learned  to  read.  But  that  such  a  prac- 
tise must  have  begun  in  the  first  century  is  suggested  in 
early  second-century  Christian  writings.  Ignatius,  the 
Christian  bishop  of  x\ntioch,  wrote  a  number  of  letters 
to  the  churches  which  ministered  unto  him  as  he  was 
on  his  way  to  Rome  to  martyrdom.  Collection  of  these 
letters  was  made  by  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  before 
the  middle  of  the  second  century.  In  writing  to  the 
Philippians  this  aged  saint  uses  these  illuminating  words : 

You  wrote  to  me,  both  you  and  Ignatius,  that  if  any  one  was 
going  to  Syria  he  should  carry  the  letters  from  you  also.  This  I 
will  do,  if  I  get  a  convenient  opportunity,  either  I  or  he  whom  I 
send  as  representative  for  you  also.  The  letters  of  Ignatius  which 
were  sent  to  us  by  him,  and  as  many  others  as  we  had  by  us,  we 
send  to  you  (Phil.  13  :  1). 


54  Makers  of  the  Bible 


If  Christians  before  the  middle  of  the  second  century 
exchanged  non-apostoUc  letters,  is  it  unreasonable  to  as- 
sume that  in  the  first  century  some  exchange  of  Paul's 
letters  had  taken  place?  And  not  only  were  such  letters 
exchanged  and  collected,  but  they  were  also,  in  all  prob- 
ability, very  early  regarded  with  something  of  the  venera- 
tion accorded  to  Scripture.  For  before  the  middle  of 
the  second  century  the  writer  of  Second  Peter  had  come 
to  think  of  Paul's  letters  as  Scripture  (2  Peter  3  :  16), 
very  probably  a  later  stage  in  a  process  begun  some  time 
before. 

Yet  Paul's  letters,  though  perhaps  collected  first,  were 
not  generally  invested  with  the  sanctity  and  authority  of 
Scripture  as  early  as  the  Gospels.  These  come  into  clear 
light  as  something  well  known  in  the  churches  before 
A.  D.  150,  a  body  of  documents  read  in  the  public  ser- 
vices of  the  church  along  with  the  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
tures and  invested  with  the  same  authority.^ 

Thereafter  the  formal  collection  of  Christian  writings 
goes  on  apace,  and  Gospels,  letters,  tracts  and  apocalypses 
begin  to  be  grouped  together  with  the  books  of  the  Old 
Testament  under  the  name  of  the  New  Testament.  Yet 
there  is  much  diversity  as  to  the  details  of  the  different 
collections,  some  including  more  books  than  others.  And 
it  is  not  until  A.  D.  367,  in  a  letter  written  by  Athanasius 
of  Alexandria  at  Easter,  that  we  get  just  the  twenty-seven 
books  which  are  included  in  our  present  New  Testament. 

Thus  we  see  something  of  the  process  of  gathering  the 
Biblical  writings  into  a  book,  a  Bible,  like  the  divine  proc- 
esses in  the  world  of  nature,  a  long  one.  From  the 
seventh  century  B.  C,  and  earlier,  to  the  fourth  century 

'  Cf .  Goodspeed,  "Story  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp.  137-144;  Souter, 
"Text  and  Canon  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp.   160-168. 


Early  Readers  of  the  Bible  55 

A.  D.  these  sixty-six  books  were  being  gathered  into 
a  collection,  and  as. they  proved  inspiring  to  those  who 
used  them  they  were  gradually  invested  with  that  sanc- 
tity and  authority  which  made  them  what  we  today  call 
Bible.  But  still  more  than  this  is  necessary  before  the 
Bible  becomes  the  book  we  know  it  to  be  today.  When 
written  and  gathered  together  in  any  number  the  books, 
if  made  available  at  all  for  lands  outside,  must  be  trans- 
lated into  the  languages  of  other  peoples.  And  transla- 
tion will  inevitably  affect  the  character  of  the  Bible,  mak- 
ing it  more  cosmopolitan,  more  like  the  world-book  Chris- 
tians now  recognize  it  to  be.  To  the  subject  of  the  trans- 
lation of  the  Bible,  then,  must  we  turn. 


E 


V 

EARLY  TRANSLATORS:  THE  SEVENTY 

Study  Outline 

L  Some  marginal  variants  reflect  the  simplicity  of  the 
early  Hebrew,  as  2  Chronicles  24  :  13,  '*  Healing  went 
up  upon  the  work."  Find  as  many  of  this  sort  of  variants 
in  the  margin  of  your  Bible  as  you  can.  What  conception 
of  the  Hebrew  language  do  you  get  from  these  variants? 

2.  Read  in  the  appendix  to  this  book  the  excerpts  from 
the  Aristeas-story  of  the  Septuagint,  and  tell  why  the  de- 
tails as  there  given  seem  unreliable. 

3.  Find  from  encyclopedias  or  Bible  dictionaries  the 
number  and  order  of  books  in  the  Hebrew  Bible;  learn 
the  books  of  your  English  version;  find  from  a  Roman 
Catholic  Bible  the  number  and  order  of  books  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Compare  these  three  lists  of  books  and  try  to 
explain  the  differences. 

4.  What  bearing  on  the  number  and  order  of  books  in 
the  Bible  has  the  early  circulation  of  rolls  as  indicated 
in  Chapter  IV? 

5.  See  the  marginal  note  on  Genesis  6  :  3  and  find 
other  similar  variants  showing  how  the  Greek  version 
of  the  Old  Testament  differs  from  the  original  Hebrew. 

6.  Study  the  passage  from  the  Greek  version  of  Jere- 
miah 27  :  1-9  as  given  on  page  66  of  this  book  and  try 
to  explain  it  as  a  translation  of  an  original  Hebrew  text. 

7.  Compare  some  New  Testament  quotations  of  Old 
Testament  passages  with  the  Old  Testament  itself,  and 
56 


Early  Translators:  The  Seventy  57 

try  to  explain  the  differences.  How  has  the  Septuagint 
influenced  the  New  Testament?  Of  what  value  is  the 
Septuagint  for  a  proper  understanding  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment? 

Scripture  References  and  Helps 

Proverbs  26  :  3;  1  Samuel  17  :  38-43;  chap.  17  and 
18;  Exodus  24  :  10;  2  Chronicles  24  :  13;  1  Kings  11  : 
40;  14  :  25f. ;  8  :  12,  13  and  53,  54;  Genesis  4  :  8a; 
Deuteronomy  32  :  43 ;  Jeremiah  27  :  1  -9. 

Robertson  Smith,  "  The  Old  Testament  in  the  Jewish 
Church,"  pp.  73-148. 

Price,  "  Ancestry  of  the  English  Bible,"  pp.  48-73. 

Hunting,  ''  Story  of  Our  Bible,"  pp.  207-209. 

Hastings'  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  ''  Septuagint." 

Encyclopedia  Britannica,  art.  "  Septuagint." 

Peake,  "  The  Bible :  Its  Origin,  Significance,  and  Abid- 
ing Worth,"  pp.  42-63. 

Hastings'  Bible  Dictionary,  1  vol.  ed.,  art.  "  Greek 
Versions  of  the  Old  Testament,  1.  Septuagint,"  pp.  315- 
319;  art.  "Text,  Versions,  and  Language  of  the  Old 
Testament,"  pp.  908,  909;  art.  "Bible,"  §§2-5,  95-97. 

Standard  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  "Versions,"  §§1,  2, 
pp.  888,  889. 

The  various  books  of  the  Bible  were  written  upon  rolls, 
gathered  together  into  collections,  copied  into  leaf-books, 
and  finally,  in  a  few  instances  at  least,  formed  into  a 
single  large  volume.  But  there  is  another  interesting  side 
to  this  wonderful  book,  and  it  is  the  story  of  how  the 
Bible  passed  out  of  the  languages  in  which  it  was  first 
written,  from  one  language  to  another,  until  it  came  at 


58  Makers  of  the  Bible 

last  to  be  translated  into  the  language  we  understand, 
and  so  made  familiar  to  us.  This  story  begins  with  the 
account  of  the  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  into 
Greek  for  Jews  living  outside  of  Palestine. 

The  original  language  of  this  part  of  the  Bible  was 
Hebrew  except  some  chapters  in  the  books  of  Ezra  and 
Daniel.  These  small  portions  and  a  few  straggling  words 
elsewhere  are  in  Aramaic,  a  closely  allied  dialect.  Ancient 
Hebrew  writing  was  simple,  consisting  of  consonants  only. 
Some  of  the  letters  were  assigned  vowel  values  very  early 
and  would  thus  help  to  preserve  the  proper  pronunciation 
of  the  language  and  make  it  possible  for  foreigners  to 
find  a  key  to  the  language.  But  the  complicated  vowel 
system  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  as  it  is  printed  today  is  an  in- 
vention of  medieval  Jewish  scholars  for  the  purpose  of 
preserving  the  proper  pronunciation  of  the  words.^ 

In  the  ancient  language  there  was  relatively  little  at- 
tempt to  express  the  complications  of  thought  so  manifest 
in  modern  writing.  Statement  followed  statement,  and 
the  reader,  or  hearer,  was  supposed  to  think  out  for  him- 
self the  proper  relation  between  clauses.  An  extreme  in- 
stance is  found  in  the  book  of  Proverbs  (Prov.  26  :  3), 
where  a  set  of  three  phrases  occurs  without  any  verb  at 
all,  preserved  even  in  the  English  translation  in  this  in- 
stance, the  mere  statement  of  the  ideas  one  after  another 
suggesting  their  connection.  A  similar  feature  of  the  lan- 
guage, though  this  time  with  sentences,  is  found  in  the 
narrative  of  David  and  Goliath.  Within  the  space  of 
six  verses  (1  Sam.  17  :  38-43)  the  conjunction  "and" 
occurs  twenty  times  (twenty-two  in  the  Hebrew),  and 
the  first  three  clauses  of  verse  42,  when  given  literally, 
illustrate  pointedly  this  coordinating  quality  of  early  He- 

*  Price,  "  Ancestry  of  the  English  Bible,"  p.  32f. 


Early  Translators:  The  Seventy  59 

brew :  "  And  the  Philistine  looked  up  and  saw  David  and 
despised  him." 

Essentially  the  same  thing  is  true  of  the  ancient  He- 
brew vocabulary.  The  words  reflect  for  the  most  part 
an  age  of  observation  and  contemplation  rather  than  one 
of  verification  and  reasoning,  as  in  the  modern  period. 
They  expressed  objects  of  the  external  world,  the  ap- 
pearance of  things,  more  than  conceptions  or  inward  be- 
ing. This  gave  the  words  a  sense-quality  and  made  the 
language  highly  figurative.  The  word  "  bone,"  for  in- 
stance, as  significant  of  the  inmost  substance  of  the  body, 
served  at  times  for  our  modern  word  "  self,"  or  "  very." 
Thus  in  the  phrase  **the  very  heaven  "  (Exod.  24  :  10) 
the  word  for  bone  occurs  in  this  sense,  a  phrase  which  the 
King  James  translators  rendered  by  "  the  body  of  heaven," 
not  daring  to  go  to  the  extreme  figurativeness  of  the 
original  Hebrew.  One  more  illustration  will  suffice 
to  make  clear  this  superfigurative  quality  of  the  old 
Hebrew  words.  In  2  Chronicles  24  :  13,  where  it  speaks 
of  the  repairing  of  the  Temple,  the  Revised  Version 
reads,  "  So  the  workmen  wrought,  and  the  work  of  re- 
pairing went  forward  in  their  hands."  But  a  striking 
marginal  note  on  this  verse  shows  how  figuratively  the 
Hebrew  expressed  the  thought  of  the  last  clause,  "  heal- 
ing went  up  upon  the  work." 

Now  it  was  this  marvelously  simple  and  highly  figura- 
tive language  that  in  the  course  of  time  came  to  be  trans- 
lated into  a  radically  different  tongue,  the  Greek  of  the 
non-Palestinian  Jew  and  his  Gentile  neighbors.  There 
were  in  early  times  flourishing  communities  of  Jews  in 
Egypt.  Just  how  early  they  migrated  thither  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  say.  About  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century  B.  C., 
before  the  death  of  Solomon,  Jeroboam,  one  of  the  king's 


60  Makers  of  the  Bible 

servants,  fell  under  his  master's  sore  displeasure  and 
ran  away  to  Egypt.  (1  Kings  11  :  40.)  A  few  years 
later  "  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt,  came  up  against  Jeru- 
salem; and  he  took  away  the  treasures  of  the  house 
of  Jehovah  and  the  treasures  of  the  king's  house " 
(1  Kings  14  :  25f.).  While  nothing  is  here  said  about 
captives,  it  would  be  passing  strange  if  that  king  did  not 
take  back  with  him  prisoners  from  Palestine  and  Jeru- 
salem. But  more  definitely,  we  know  from  the  Elephan- 
tine papyri,  papyrus  letters  from  Egypt  in  the  fifth  cen- 
tury B.  C,  that  there  was  a  flourishing  colony  of  Jews 
on  the  island  in  the  Nile  just  at  the  foot  of  the  first 
cataract.  This  Jewish  colony  had  a  temple,  built  and  in 
use  as  early  as  525  B.  C,  in  which  they  worshiped  the 
God  of  their  fathers.  They  were  much  like  their  kinsmen 
in  Palestine  before  the  exile  in  their  devotion  to  the  tem- 
ple. For  when  the  Egyptians  destroyed  this  building, 
the  Jews  of  the  community  regarded  it  as  a  calamity, 
saying  in  one  of  the  letters,^  "  But  when  this  had  hap- 
pened, we  with  our  wives  and  our  children  put  on  sack- 
cloth and  fasted  and  prayed  to  Ihu,  the  lord  of  heaven." 
So  it  was  in  other  parts  of  Egypt  also.  Alexandria  was 
the  home  of  a  large  and  flourishing  community  of  Jews, 
and  it  is  here  that  we  must  probably  look  for  the  begin- 
nings of  that  process  of  translation  which  was  to  render 
the  Bible  into  the  languages  of  many  diflferent  nations. 
The  story  of  the  translation  of  the  Hebrew  law  into 
the  Alexandrian  Greek  is  told  by  one  who  calls  himself 
Arlsteas,  in  a  letter  to  his  brother.  Aristeas  pretends  to  be 
a  high  official  at  the  court  of  king  Ptolemy  II,  who  reigned 
over  Egypt  285-247  B.  C.    The  king  has  founded  a  great 

2  Sprengling,    "  Aramaic    Papyri    of    Elephantine    in    English,"    American 
Journal  of  Theology,  Vol.  XXI,  p.  438. 


Early  Translators:  The  Seventy  61 

library  at  Alexandria  and  has  been  gathering  books  for 
it  from  all  over  the  known  world.  The  librarian  calls  the 
king's  attention  to  the  value  of  the  Jewish  sacred  books 
and  suggests  that  they  be  secured  for  the  royal  library. 
An  embassy  is  sent  to  Jerusalem,  one  member  of  which  is 
this  Aristeas,  to  find  men  who  can  translate  the  Law 
into  Greek  for  the  king's  library.  Finally  with  the  help 
of  the  high  priest  at  Jerusalem  seventy-two  Jewish  elders 
are  found,  six  from  each  of  the  twelve  tribes,  gifted  in 
language  and  able  to  do  the  work  of  translating  their 
Law  into  Greek.  These  seventy-two  elders  proceed  to 
Alexandria  and  are  there  received  by  the  king  with  all 
the  pomp  and  feasting  he  can  give  them.  After  being 
tested  with  hard  questions  they  are  led  to  a  quiet  build- 
ing on  what  was  then  an  island.  Spreading  out  their 
Law  rolls  beautifully  written  in  letters  of  gold  on  finely 
prepared  skins,  they  begin  the  work  of  translation,  and 
after  seventy-two  days  of  uninterrupted  toil  translate  the 
whole  Law  into  Greek.  The  translation  is  then  tested 
by  the  Alexandrian  Jews,  heard  read  by  the  king,  and 
finally  accepted  in  a  formal  manner  for  the  great  library. 
So  runs  the  story  of  the  so-called  pseudo-Aristeas  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  the  best-known  Greek  version  of 
the  Hebrew  Old  Testament,  This  recital  has  given  rise 
to  the  name  by  which  this  version  has  become  widely 
known,  the  Septuagint,  a  Latin  word  meaning  seventy. 

But  the  details  of  the  story  as  thus  told  by  this  pseudo- 
Aristeas  are  probably  fanciful,  and  cannot  be  relied  upon 
to  give  the  entire  truth  about  the  origin  of  this  first 
great  version  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures.  As  suggested,  the 
needs  of  Greek-speaking  Jews  in  and  around  Alexandria 
and  their  desire  for  the  Scriptures  of  their  fathers  in  the 
language  of  their  daily  life  were  perhaps  the  underlying 


62  Makers  of  the  Bible 

cause  of  the  translation.  The  actual  task  of  translating 
the  Hebrew  Bible  was  undoubtedly  done  at  different 
periods  during  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  or  more,  and 
was  done  by  a  number  of  different  men  whose  names 
are  unknown. 

The  most  striking  difference  between  this  first  Greek 
version  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  original  Hebrew 
lies  in  the  number  and  arrangement  of  the  separate  books. 
In  the  early  Hebrew  Bible  the  books  numbered  twenty- 
four  and  were  arranged  in  three  groups  corresponding 
to  the  stages  of  their  acceptance  as  Scripture.  But  the 
Septuagint  adds  a  number  of  books  and  arranges  the 
whole  list  in  a  different  order.  In  the  Hebrew  Bible 
we  find :  the  Law,  five  books,  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus, 
Numbers,  Deuteronomy ;  the  Prophets,  eight  books, 
Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel,  Kings,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel, 
The  Twelve  (=the  Minor  Prophets);  the  Writings, 
eleven  books.  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Job,  Song  of  Songs, 
Ruth,  Lamentations,  Ecclesiastes,  Esther,  Daniel,  Ezra- 
Nehemiah,  Chronicles.  But  the  Septuagint  has  the  follow- 
ing :  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers,  Deuteronomy, 
Joshua,  Judges,  Ruth,  Kingdoms  (4  books  =  Samuel  and 
Kings),  Omissions  (2  books  =  Chronicles),  Esdras,  (2 
books  =  Ezra  and  Nehemiah) ,  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Eccle- 
siastes, Song,  Job,  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  Wisdom  of 
Sirach,  Esther,  Judith,  Tobit,  Hosea,  Amos,  Micah,  Joel, 
Obadiah,  Jonah,  Nahum,  Habakkuk,  Zephaniah,  Haggai, 
Zechariah,  Malachi,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Baruch,  Lamenta- 
tions, Epistle  of  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Daniel,  Susanna,  Bel 
and  the  Dragon,  Maccabees  (4  books). 

A  little  study  of  these  two  arrangements  will  show 
where  the  Greek  Old  Testament  differs  from  the  Hebrew 
Bible.    The  first  group,  the  Law,  appears  unchanged  in 


Early  Translators :  The  Seventy  63 

the  Septuagint.  The  other  two  groups  are  broken  up 
in  the  Greek  version  and  distributed  apparently  on  the 
basis  of  Hterary  character.  As  Swete  remarks,^  "  his- 
tories were  made  to  consort  with  histories,  prophetic  and 
poetical  writings  with  others  of  their  respective  kinds," 
an  order  and  arrangement  of  books  best  explained  by 
the  early  circulation  of  books  in  roll-form  and  change 
therefrom  to  leaf-book  form.  It  would  be  natural  for 
the  owner  of  a  roll  of  Esther  to  place  it  for  keeping  in 
the  same  box  with  the  rolls  of  Judith  and  Tobit.  For  these 
books  were  regarded  as  similar.  Clement  of  Rome,  writ- 
ing near  the  end  of  the  first  century  A.  D.  to  the.  Christian 
church  in  Corinth,  cites  in  the  same  chapter  as  examples 
of  self-sacrifice  "  the  blessed  Judith,"  willing  to  risk  her 
life  for  her  besieged  city,  and  "  the  faith-perfect  Esther," 
willing  to  assume  the  same  risk  for  her  people.  ( 1  Clem. 
55  :  4,  6.)  If,  then,  these  writings  were  held  in  like 
regard,  when  the  time  came  to  put  the  rolls  into  leaf- 
book  form,  what  more  natural  than  that  an  entire  set  of 
rolls  should  be  included  in  a  volume? 

But  in  order  to  appreciate  more  thoroughly  the  char- 
acter of  this  Greek  Old  Testament  and  at  the  same  time 
to  gain  added  light  on  our  own  form  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment in  the  English  Bible  it  becomes  necessary  to  go 
more  minutely  into  the  dififerences  between  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  and  this  first  Alexandrian  Greek  translation  of 
them. 

These  two  Bibles  differ  in  amount  of  matter,  as  is  plain 
from  the  difference  in  number  of  books.  But  difference 
appears  also  in  brief  passages,  making  possible  a  closer 
comparison.  In  Genesis  4  :  8a,  our  American  Standard 
Version,   representing  the   Hebrew,   reads,   "  And   Cain 

^  "  Introduction  to  Old  Testament  in  Greek,"  p.  218. 


64  Makers  of  the  Bible 

told  (or,  said  unto)  Abel  his  brother/'  while  the  Greek 
version  has,  *'  And  Cain  said  unto  Abel  his  brother,  '  Let 
us  go  into  the  plain.' "  Another  interesting  passage  is 
found  in  1  Kings  8.  Here  verses  12  and  13  are  missing 
from  the  Septuagint,  but  between  verses  53  and  54  this 
version  inserts  the  following  striking  addition  : 

Then   Solomon  spoke  concerning  the  house  how  he  had  com- 
pleted the  building  of  it, 

"The  sun  in  heaven  the  Lord  made  known ; 
He  said  he  would  dwell  in  darkness. 
Build  my  house,  a  house  fitting  for  thyself, 
To  dwell  in  newness." 

Behold,  is  not  this  written  in  the  book  of  the  song? 

There  are  some  errors  in  the  Greek  of  this  passage  which 
show  that  it  is  a  translation  of  a  Hebrew  original.  More- 
over, the  transposition  of  a  single  letter  (the  smallest  in 
the  Hebrew  alphabet)  in  the  Hebrew  word  for  "the 
song  "  makes  that  word  into  the  name  of  that  old  book 
of  war  poetry  we  have  already  met,  the  book  of  Jashar.* 
Once  more,  in  Deuteronomy  32  :  43,  the  Song  of  Moses, 
four  couplets  of  the  Hebrew  are  expanded  into  eight  in 
the  Septuagint,  thus : 

Rejoice,  O  heavens,  with  him. 
And  let  the  sons  of  God  wor- 
ship him. 
Rejoice,    O    nations,    with    his      Rejoice,  O  nations,  with  his  peo- 
people :  pie, 

And  let  all  the  angels  of  God  be 
strong  in  him. 
For  he  will  avenge  the  blood  of      For  the  blood  of  his  servants  he 
his  servants,  avenges, 

*  Robertson  Smith,  "  Old  Testament  in  the  Jewish  Church,"  p.  434f. 


Early  Translators:  The  Seventy  65 

And  he  will  render  vengeance  to      And  he  will  avenge,  and  will 
his  enemies,  render  vengeance  to  his  ene- 

mies, 
And  he  will  pay  back  those  who 
hate 
And  will  make  expiation  for  his      And  will  cleanse  out  the  land  of 
land,  for  his  people.  his  people. 

There  are  likewise  numerous  lengthy  passages  which 
also  well  illustrate  the  differences  between  the  Hebrew 
Bible  and  the  Septuagint.  Of  these  we  may  notice  two  or 
three.  The  book  of  Esther  is  noteworthy.  This  book  in 
the  Greek  version  is  over  one  hundred  verses  longer  than 
the  Hebrew  original,  and  the  additions  are  distributed 
through  the  book  in  sections,  or  paragraphs,  in  some  in- 
stances as  long  as  average-length  chapters.  The  first  sec- 
tion consists  of  seventeen  verses  telHng  the  story  of 
Mordecai's  first  promotion  at  court  in  the  second  year  of 
Artaxerxes  (Ahasuerus),  placed  before  chapter  1  of  our 
English  Esther,  which  opens  in  the  third  year  of  that  king. 
The  second  section,  of  seven  verses,  professing  to  give  a 
copy  of  the  letter  of  Ahasuerus  referred  to  in  verse  13 
of  chapter  3,  cominanding  the  destruction  of  the  Jews,  is 
placed  in  the  Greek  version  of  Esther  between  verses  13 
and  14  of  our  English  Bible,  which,  of  course,  represents 
the  Hebrew  Bible.  The  third  and  fourth  sections,  of 
thirty  and  sixteen  verses  respectively,  come  between  chap- 
ters 4  and  5  of  the  English  text,  and  give  the  prayers  of 
Mordecai  and  Esther  and  the  latter's  appearance  before 
the  king  to  win  his  favor.  The  fifth  section,  of  twenty- 
four  verses,  comes  between  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
verses  of  chapter  8  and  purports  to  give  a  copy  of  the 
letter  referred  to  in  verses  9-12.  The  last  and  sixth  sec- 
tion, of  eleven  verses,  is  a  sort  of  epilogue,  closing  the 


66  Makers  of  the  Bible 

whole  Esther  story  by  telling  of  the  institution  of  the  feast 
of  Purim  (Lots),  and  closing  with  this  note  which  pro- 
fesses to  relate  the  circumstances  under  which  the  book 
was  taken  to  Egypt : 

In  the  fourth  year  of  the  reign  of  Ptolemy  and  Cleopatra,  Do- 
sitheus,  who  said  that  he  was  a  priest  and  Levite,  and  his  son 
Ptolemy  brought  the  above  letter  of  Purim,  as  they  called  it, 
which  had  been  translated  (so  they  said)  by  one  Lysimachus,  son 
of  Ptolemy,  a  resident  at  Jerusalem. 

Again,  a  portion  of  Jeremiah  27  will  illustrate  the  same 
differences  between  the  Hebrew  and  Septuagint  texts  of 
this  prophet.  The  first  verse  of  the  Hebrew  text  is 
omitted  in  the  Greek  version,  but  verse  2  of  the  Hebrew 
is  numbered  1  in  the  Greek.  Hence,  translating  the  first 
nine  verses  of  the  Greek  version,  putting  the  Hebrew 
verse-numberings  in  parentheses,  we  have  the  following: 

1  (2)  Thus  said  the  Lord,  Make  bonds  and  bars,  and  place  them 
around  thy  neck,  2(3)  and  you  shall  send  them  to  the  king  of 
Idumea  and  to  the  king  of  Moab  and  to  the  king  of  the  sons  of 
Ammon  and  to  the  king  of  Tyre  and  to  the  king  of  Sidon,  by  the 
hands  of  their  messengers  who  came  to  meet  them  to  Jerusalem 
to  Zedekiah  king  of  Judah.  3(4)  And  you  shall  arrange  with 
them  to  say  to  their  masters,  Thus  said  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Is- 
rael, Thus  shall  ye  say  to  their  masters,  4(5)  I  made  the  earth  by 
my  great  power  and  my  outstretched  arm,  and  I  will  give  to 
whomsoever  it  shall  seem  good  in  my  eyes.  5(6)  I  gave  the  earth 
to  Nabouchodonosor,  king  of  Babylon,  to  serve  him,  and  the 
beasts  of  the  field  to  work  for  him.  6(7)  And  the  nation  and  king- 
dom which  shall  not  place  their  neck  under  the  yoke  of  the  king 
of  Babylon,  with  the  sword  and  with  famine  will  I  visit  them,  said 
the  Lord,  until  they  fail  in  his  hand,  7(8)  And  ye,  hearken  not 
to  your  false  prophets  and  those  who  divine  for  you  and  those  who 
cause  you  to  have  dreams  and  those  who  give  omens  for  you  and 
practise  sorcery,  saying.  Ye  shall  not  work  for  the  king  of  Babylon; 


Early  Translators:  The  Seventy  67 

8(9)  for  they  prophesy  to  you  to  separate  you  from  your  land. 
9(10)  And  the  nation  that  shall  bring  its  neck  in  under  the  yoke 
of  the  king  of  Babylon  and  work  for  him,  then  will  I  leave  it 
(them)  upon  its  (their)  own  land;  and  it  (they)  shall  work  it 
and  dwell  in  it. 

Lastly,  the  Goliath-David  stories  in  1  Samuel  17  furnish 
an  instance  where  Septuagint  differences  from  the  He- 
brew serve  to  clear  up  difficulties  in  the  latter  text.  In 
the  Hebrew,  and  so  of  course  the  English,  of  chapter 

16  :  14  ff.  we  are  told  how  David,  introduced  to  Saul's 
court,  becomes  a  favorite  with  the  king.    Then  in  chapter 

17  we  have  an  account  in  which  David,  though  now  the 
king's  armor-bearer,  does  not  follow  his  sovereign  to  bat- 
tle. Verse  15  only  makes  the  difficulty  more  noticeable, 
and  with  16,  may  be  an  editorial  attempt  to  smooth  out 
contradictions.  Then  David  is  sent  by  his  father  to  the 
camp  with  supplies  for  the  brothers  and  a  small  gift  for 
the  captain  of  the  local  regiment  of  militia  to  which  they 
belong:  but  no  gift  for  the  king.  Moreover,  David  is 
utterly  unknown  at  court,  neither  Saul  nor  Abner  having 
heard  of  him  before.  (1  Sam.  17  :  55f.)  But  in  the 
Septuagint,  17  :  12-31,  41,  50  and  17  :  55  to  18  :  5  are 
missing.  Without  these  verses  we  get  a  tolerably  con- 
sistent account,  in  which  David  is  in  camp  (1  Sam.  17  : 
54)  close  to  Saul's  person  (1  Sam.  17  :  32),  as  is  to  be 
expected  from  chapter  16.  On  the  other  hand,  the  verses 
omitted  from  the  Septuagint  give  a  different  David  story, 
of  a  shepherd  lad  still  unknown  when  his  father  sent  him 
to  camp  with  provisions.  He  volunteers  to  fight,  is  victor, 
is  retained  at  court,  and  becomes  the  bosom  friend  of 
Jonathan. 

How  are  we  to  explain  such  things  ?  The  answer  is,  in 
several  ways,  perhaps.     (1)   Either  the  Septuagint  has 


68  Makers  of  the  Bible 

the  true  text,  and  the  Hebrew  additions  are  interpolations 
of  fragments  from  a  *'  lost "  history  of  David  which  have 
been  put  into  the  Hebrew  text  by  accident  or  ignorance  in 
the  process  of  compilation;  or  (2)  the  Septuagint  has 
deliberately  omitted  this  passage,  1  Samuel  17  :  12-31,  41, 
50  and  17  :  55  to  18  :  5.  But  the  query  arises,  Could 
simple  omission,  made  without  changing  a  word  of  what 
was  left,  produce  a  complete  and  consecutive  narrative? 
For  verse  32  follows  verse  11  more  smoothly  than  does 
verse  12.  On  the  other  hand,  verses  12-31  are  self-con- 
tained and  tell  a  perfectly  natural  story.  Again,  verses 
1-11  are  part  of  a  history  of  public  affairs,  while  12-31  are 
part  of  a  biography  of  David.  Moreover,  the  king's  prom- 
ise of  riches  and  his  daughter  (1  Sam.  17  :  25)  is  first 
referred  to  in  a  conversation  with  David,  and  that  promise 
suggests  that  the  narrative  in  verses  12-31  is  a  fragment 
foreign  to  the  main  narrative  of  the  book  of  Samuel.  For 
though  David  did  finally  marry  the  king's  daughter,  he 
did  not  receive  her  as  a  reward  for  slaying  this  Philistine, 
but  for  an  exploit  among  the  Philistines.  (1  Sam.  18  : 
22-29.)  Hence,  on  the  whole,  it  seems  more  reasonable  to 
conclude  that  the  Septuagint  has  not  arbitrarily  omitted 
these  verses,  but  rather  that  they  have  been  interpolated 
in  the  Hebrew  text  with  verses  15,  16  as  an  editor's  at- 
tempt to  reconcile  differences  and  explain  difficulties. 

What,  now,  is  the  meaning  of  Bible  translation  for  us  ? 
Of  course  it  raises  difficulties,  especially  if  we  have  been 
accustomed  to  depend  upon  the  very  letter  of  Scripture. 
And  perhaps  we  expose  ourselves  to  the  criticism  of  our 
Roman  Catholic  friends  when  they  suggest  that  transla- 
tion by  individuals  leads  to  vagaries  and  all  sorts  of 
"  isms.''  On  the  other  hand,  does  it  not  rather  suggest 
the  marvelous  capacity  of  the  Bible  for  translation,  not 


Early  Translators:  The  Seventy  69 

only  into  the  various  dialects  of  earth,  but  also  into  the 
language  of  each  individual  soul  ?  Indeed,  we  were  better 
off  in  this  matter  to  adopt  the  attitude  of  mind  expressed 
by  the  King  James  Revisers,  who  reveal  a  wonderfully 
modern  spirit  in  their  quaint  old  language  on  this  point :  ° 

Translation  it  is  that  openeth  the  window;  to  let  in  the  light; 
that  breaketh  the  shell,  that  we  may  eat  the  kernel ;  that  putteth 
aside  the  curtaine,  that  we  may  looke  into  the  most  Holy  place; 
that  remooveth  the  cover  of  the  well,  that  wee  may  come  by  the 
water,  even  as  Jacob  rolled  away  the  stone  from  the  mouth  of 
the  well,  by  which  meanes  the  flockes  of  Laban  were  watered. 
Indeed — without  translation  into  the  vulgar  tongue,  the  unlearned 
are  but  like  children  at  Jacob's  well  (which  was  deepe)  without 
a  bucket  or  some  thing  to  draw  with :  or  as  that  person  mentioned 
by  Esay,  to  whom  when  a  sealed  booke  was  delivered,  with  this 
motion,  Reade  this,  I  pray  thee,  hee  was  fine  to  make  this  answere, 
/  cannot,  for  it  is  sealed. 

s  The  Authorized  Version  of  the  Bible,  in  Cambridge  English  Classics,  I, 
Preface,  p.  I3f. 


VI 

EARLY  TRANSLATORS :  JEROME 

Study  Outline 

L  Read  the  article  "  Vulgate  "  (with  cross  references) 
in  any  good  Bible  dictionary  or  encyclopedia  and  describe 
the  version  in  its  external  history  and  character  as  a 
translation. 

2.  Look  up  in  encyclopedias  and  histories  the  life-story 
of  Jerome  and  familiarize  yourself  with  the  outlines  of 
that  life. 

3.  Study  the  history  of  the  Roman  Empire  during  the 
Graeco-Roman  period  with  special  reference  to  the  account 
of  the  spread  of  the  Greek  language  during  the  early 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era. 

4.  Read  (aloud,  if  possible)  in  the  appendix  to  this 
book  some  of  the  selections  from  the  Vulgate,  and  try 
to  frame  an  idea  of  the  character  of  the  Latin  language 
as  there  reflected. 

5.  Compare  closely  some  of  the  selections  from  the  Vul- 
gate as  given  in  the  appendix  with  the  same  passages 
in  the  English  Bible  (Authorized  Version,  if  possible), 
and  try  to  tell  how  the  Vulgate  has  influenced  the  rhythm 
and  sound  of  the  English  Bible. 

Scripture  References  and  Helps 

John  19  :  19f.;  Acts  28  :  30f . ;  Revelation  15  :  1 ;  5  : 
11-14;  1  Corinthians  15  :  42;  Genesis  1  :  1-3. 
70 


Early  Translators:  Jerome  71 

Breasted,  "Ancient  Times,"  pp.  630-631  and  642-658. 

Price,  "  Ancestry  of  Eng.  Bible,"  pp.  74-84. 

Lewis,  "  How  the  Bible  Grew,"  pp.  128-168. 

Gardiner,  "  Bible  as  English  Literature,"  pp.  293-310. 

Hastings'  Bible  Diet.,  vol.  IV,  pp.  873-890;  1  vol.  ed., 
pp.  960-964;  also  art.  "  Greece,"  p.  315. 

Encyclopedias,  art.  *'  Vulgate,"  "  Versions,"  "  Jerome." 

Standard  Bible  Diet.,  art.  "  Versions,"  H,  Other  Ver- 
sions of  Old  Testament,  p.  891  f. 

Between  the  Septuagint  and  our  English  Bible  lies  an- 
other remarkable  version,  the  Latin  Vulgate.  In  the 
form  given  to  it  by  Jerome  this  version  has  mightily 
influenced  European  life,  and  therefore  we  ought  to  know 
its  place  in  the  making  of  our  Bible.  But  the  Vulgate 
was  preceded  by  what  scholars  have  designated  as  the 
Old  Latin  translations  and  was  itself  a  revision  of  these 
older  versions. 

The  Roman  Empire  was  for  many  years  bilingual. 
Greek  and  Latin  flourished  side  by  side,  the  latter  as  the 
official  language  of  the  Empire  and  the  former  as  the 
language  of  daily  intercourse  in  non-official  circles.  In 
Palestine  there  would  naturally  be  a  third,  the  Aramaic, 
a  dialect  of  the  common  people  closely  related  to  Hebrew, 
so  that  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  these  three  languages 
reflected  in  Pilate's  inscription  on  the  cross.  (John  19  : 
19f.)  Christianity  came  to  the  West  in  Greek  dress. 
Soon  after  the  middle  of  the  first  century  A.  D.  we  find 
Paul  in  Rome  preaching  to  all  who  would  hear  him,  (Acts 
28  :  30f.)  By  the  end  of  this  century  the  Roman  church 
seems  to  have  won  a  leading  place,  since  one  of  its 
bishops,  Clement,  wrote  on  behalf  of  the  church  a  letter 
to  the  church  at  Corinth  to  settle  some  difficulties  there. 

F 


72  Makers  of  the  Bible 

But  though  Clement  had  a  Latin  name,  he  wrote  in  Greek 
the  letter  known  as  First  Clement  among  the  Apostolic 
Fathers.  Still  later  the  "  Shepherd "  of  Hermas  and 
the  writings  of  Justin  Martyr  and  others  appeared  at 
Rome  in  Greek.  Even  the  Roman  emperor,  Marcus 
Aurelius,  wrote  his  "  Meditations  "  in  Greek,  and  Irenaeus, 
the  great  Christian  b'^ishop  of  Lyons,  toward  the  end  of  the 
second  century  A.  D.  used  the  same  language.  Moreover, 
if  the  lower  and  perhaps  the  middle  classes  were  recruited 
in  some  considerable  measure  from  Greek-speaking  peo- 
ples, this  would  be  additional  reason  for  the  wide-spread 
use  of  Greek  by  those  from  among  whom  Christianity 
made  its  most  numerous  converts. 

So  we  may  not  after  all  find  the  beginnings  of  Latin 
versions  at  Rome,  much  as  we  should  expect  to  look  to 
the  capital  of  the  Roman  world  for  the  origin  of  the 
Latin  Bible.  Some  scholars  hold  that  Latin  translations 
of  the  Scriptures  were  first  made  at  Antioch  in  Syria  and 
thence  were  carried  westward.^  But  others  find  in  Africa 
the  original  home  of  the  Old  Latin  translations.  Here 
Latin  was  probably  from  early  times  the  language  of 
both  official  life  and  common  daily  intercourse  among  the 
people,^  and  Latin  translations  of  the  Scriptures  would 
not  only  be  required  soon  after  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity into  Northern  Africa,  but  they  would  also  find 
readers  as  soon  as  they  could  be  published.  But  just 
when  the  parts  of  the  Bible  were  first  translated  into 
Latin  it  is  impossible  to  tell,  perhaps  soon  after  the 
middle  of  the  second  century  A.  D. 

There  is  not  now  in  existence,  so  far  as  is  known  today, 
a   single  complete   Old   Latin   Bible  among  the   rather 

1  Cf.  Kennedy,  Hastings'  Bible  Diet.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  53f.,  art.  "  Latin  Ver- 
sions, the  Old." 

'  Cf.  Breasted,  "  Ancient  Times,"  p.  647. 


Early  Translators:  Jerome  7Z 

numerous  manuscripts  of  the  Old  Latin  versions.  We 
know  it  in  the  form  of  quotations  made  from  it  by  the 
early  Latin  Church  Fathers,  and  in  a  number  of  fragmen- 
tary manuscripts.  These  witnesses  to  the  text  of  the 
Old  Latin  Bible  show  that  as  a  translation  it  was  free  and 
often  rough,  and  existed  in  such  a  variety  of  renderings 
as  to  be  confusing  and  unsatisfactory.  Indeed,  the  great 
Augustine  complained  of  the  Latinarwn  interpretum  in- 
iinita  varietas  and  declared  ^  that 

those  who  have  translated  the  Scriptures  from  Hebrew  into  Greek 
can  be  numbered,  but  the  Latin  translators  cannot,  for  every  one 
into  whose  hands  a  Greek  manuscript  came  in  the  first  periods 
of  the  Christian  faith,  and  who  fancied  that  he  had  some  skill 
in  both  languages,  ventured  to  translate. 

This  diversity  of  rendering  and  freedom  in  translation 
was  often  the  source  of  complaint  and  trouble,  and  paved 
the  way  for  the  revision  which  became  the  Bible  of  all 
Western  Christendom  for  over  a  thousand  years  and 
powerfully  influenced  all  European  life  through  the  long 
medieval  period.  This  revision  was  the  version  known  as 
the  Vulgate. 

This  version  was  the  work  of  an  early  scholar  named 
Jerome,  who  was  well  fitted  for  his  task.  Born  of  well- 
to-do  Christian  parents  about  the  middle  of  the  fourth 
century  A.  D.  at  Stridon,  in  what  is  now  Czecho-Slovakia, 
he  was  well  educated  first  at  home  and  then  later  sent 
to  Rome  to  study  under  one  of  the  celebrated  gram- 
marians of  the  Empire.  He  read  the  great  Latin  authors, 
Terence,  Vergil,  and  Cicero,  became  familiar  with  Greek 
literature,  and  studied  rhetoric  under  a  renowned  teacher 
who  in  his  old  age  became  a  convert  to  Christianity. 

3  Quoted  by  Price,  "  Ancestry  of  English  Bible,"  p.  75. 


74  Makers  of  the  Bible 

Jerome  traveled  widely  also,  both  in  the  West  and  in  the 
East.  It  is  said  that  while  he  was  at  Antioch  in  Syria 
he  was  taken  with  a  fever,  during  the  course  of  which  a 
dream  made  a  deep  impression  upon  him  and  changed  the 
course  of  his  life.  He  dreamed  that  he  was  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ.  Asked  who  he  was,  he  replied 
that  he  was  a  Christian.  At  once  came  back  the  stern 
rebuke :  *  "  You  deceive  yourself,  you  are  a  Ciceronian, 
not  a  Christian;  for  where  your  treasure  is,  there  also 
is  your  heart." 

In  spite  of  this,  however,  Jerome's  classical  training 
gave  him  a  fine  instinct  for  language  and  proved  a  great 
advantage  for  his  life-work  as  a  translator  of  the  Scrip- 
tures into  Latin.  In  search  of  solitude  in  the  summer 
of  A.  D.  374  he  moved  to  a  desert  place  east  of  Antioch, 
where  he  spent  five  years  in  self-discipline  and  study. 
He  learned  Hebrew  from  a  rabbi  who  had  been  converted 
to  Christianity,  was  later  ordained  presbyter  in  the  church 
at  Antioch,  moved  to  Constantinople,  and  in  382  returned 
to  Rome  to  live  for  about  two  years  in  close  relations 
with  the  bishop  of  Rome,  Damasus,  who  appealed  to  the 
great  Christian  scholar  to  undertake  the  task  of  preparing 
a  better  version  of  the  Bible.  Jerome  could  say  he  was 
widely  popular  in  Rome  and  regarded  as  a  scholar,  but 
he  foresaw  the  bitter  criticism  and  hostility  such  an  under- 
taking would  arouse. 

You  urge  me  to  revise  the  old  Latin  version  [he  says  in  the 
Preface  to  the  Gospels,  addressed  to  Damasus],  and,  as  it  were, 
to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  copies  of  the  Scriptiwes  which  are 
now  scattered  throughout  the  world  and,  inasmuch  as  they  differ 
from  one  another,  you  would  have  me  decide  which  of  them 
agrees  with  the  Greek  original.    The  labor  is  one  of  love,  but  at 

*  White,  art.  "  Vulgate,"  in  Hastings'  Diet.,  Vol.  IV,  p.  873b. 


Early  Translators:  Jerome  7S 

the  same  time  both  perilous  and  presumptuous;  for  in  judging 
others  I  must  be  content  to  be  judged  by  all;  and  how  can  I 
dare  to  change  the  language  of  the  world  in  its  hoary  old  age, 
and  carry  it  back  to  the  early  days  of  its  infancy?  Is  there  a  man, 
learned  or  unlearned,  who,  when  he  takes  the  volume  into  his 
hands,  and  perceives  that  what  he  reads  does  not  suit  his  settled 
tastes,  will  not  break  out  immediately  into  violent  language,  and 
call  me  a  forger  and  a  profane  person  for  having  the  audacity  to 
add  anything  to  the  ancient  books,  or  to  make  any  changes  or 
corrections  therein.^ 

Jerome's  first  task  was  simply  to  revise  existing  Latin 
versions,  correcting  the  Old  Latin  text  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment by  the  aid  of  the  best  Greek  manuscripts  and  in  the 
Old  Testament  by  the  best  text  of  the  Septuagint.  As 
the  Gospels  were  used  for  the  public  reading  he  seems 
to  have  begun  with  this  portion  of  the  New  Testament 
and  most  naturally  to  have  followed  this  with  the  revision 
of  the  Psalms  in  the  Old  Testament,  since  these  were 
needed  for  the  services  of  the  church.  But  the  work  of 
revision  was  interrupted  by  the  death  of  his  friend  and 
patron,  Damasus,  and  the  accession  of  a  new  bishop 
who  did  not  care  at  all  for  the  improvement  of  Scripture. 
Jerome  continued  his  work,  however,  but  removed  from 
Rome  to  the  East.  He  settled  finally  at  Bethlehem,  and 
there  took  up  his  task  in  earnest,  no  longer  merely  a 
revision  of  existing  Latin  Bibles,  but  a  new  translation 
from  Hebrew  and  Greek  originals,  translating  the  whole 
Bible  faithfully  into  a  fine  Latin,  which  was  destined  to 
remain  for  hundreds  of  years  the  accepted  form  of  Scrip- 
ture for  the  Western  Christian  world. 

The  Latin  of  the  Vulgate  is  not,  of  course,  the  literary 
Latin  of  the  classical  period,  although,  as  above  noted, 
Jerome  was  familiar  with  the  classical  writers  of  Rome. 

6  Quoted  by  Lewis,  **  How  the  Bible  Grew,"  p.  i47f- 


yd  Makers  of  the  Bible 

We  do  not  find  the  author  of  the  Vulgate  imitating  Cicero, 
yet  his  fine  ability  as  a  linguist  has  been  well-nigh  uni- 
versally recognized.  One  simple  illustration  will  suggest 
the  direction  in  which  the  later  Latin  developed  away 
from  the  early  classical  style.  Our  first  days  in  the  high 
school  in  the  study  of  this  language  were  made  hard  be- 
cause of  our  difficulty  in  learning  to  hold  the  verb  till 
the  end  of  the  sentence,  as  in  classical  Latin  authors  we 
read.  But  Jerome  did  not  pattern  after  that  stiff  and 
formidable  style  in  the  making  of  his  sentences.  He  fol- 
lowed what  was  to  his  contemporaries  in  their  daily  life 
and  what  seems  to  us  nowadays  a  more  natural  order. 
Notice  this  feature  in  the  following  brief  passages  from 
the  Vulgate :  Et  vidi  aliud  signum  in  caelo  magnum  et 
mirahile,  "  And  I  saw  another  sign  in  heaven,  great  and 
wonderful"  (Rev.  15  :  1).  Once  more  we  read  a  verse 
from  Paul's  impassioned  argument  on  the  resurrection: 
Sic  et  resurrectio  mortnonim.  Seminatiir  in  corriiptione, 
siirget  in  incorriiptione:  "  So  also  is  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead.  It  is  sown  in  corruption;  it  is  raised  in  in- 
corruption "  (1  Cor.  15  :  42).  Again,  the  very  first 
verses  of  the  Bible  show  the  same  simplicity  of  word- 
order.  In  principio  creavit  Deiis  caelum  et  terram.  Terra 
atitem  erat  inanis  et  vacua,  et  tenebrae  erant  super  faciem 
abyssi;  et  Spiritus  Dei  ferebatur  super  aquas:  "  In  the 
beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth.  But 
the  earth  was  without  form  and  void,  and  darknesses  were 
upon  the  face  of  the  abyss;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  was 
borne  upon  the  waters"  (Gen.  1  :  1-3). 

If  now  we  ask  more  closely  as  to  the  character  of  this 
wonderful  version,  we  shall  get  a  better  answer  by  study- 
ing its  influence  upon  our  own  English  versions.  Such  in- 
fluence is  difficult  to  measure,  but  if  we  are  willing  to  be 


Early  Translators:  Jerome  77 

at  pains  to  recall  our  Latin  and  compare  the  Vulgate 
with  the  King  James  Bible,  we  shall  get  a  rather  vivid 
impression  of  the  influence  of  the  Latin  upon  the  En- 
glish. For  Professor  Gardiner  has  pointed  this  out  clearly, 
showing  that  our  seventeenth  century  English  translators 
were  steeped  in  the  language  of  the  Vulgate.  They  seem 
to  have  transferred  to  their  English  much  more  than  the 
meanings  of  words — the  rhythm  and  sonorousness  of  the 
Vulgate  Latin.  To  compare  only  a  few  passages  of  the 
English  and  Latin  is  to  see  something  of  the  character  of 
the  Vulgate  and  to  feel  how  much  its  stateliness  and  music 
have  influenced  our  Bible.  Gardiner  compares  the  two 
versions  in  Revelation  5  :  11-14  and  feels®  that  **  the 
prevalence  of  such*  resonant  phrases  as  vocem  angelorum 
multorum,  honorem  et  gloriam,  in  saecula  saeculorum, 
makes  this  passage  almost  an  anthem  as  it  stands ;  and  its 
grave  sonorousness  is  a  palpable  utterance  of  the  awe  and 
reverence  which  man  feels  in  the  presence  of  an  almighty 
God."  Here  are  the  passages  arranged  in  parallel  columns 
for  comparison : 

Et  vidi,  et  audivi  voccm  An-  And  I  beheld,  and  I  heard  the 

gelorum   multorum   in    circuitu,  voice    of    many    angels    round 

throni,  et  animalium  et  senior-  about  the  throne  and  the  beasts 

um;    et    erat    numerus    eonun  and  the  elders :   and  the  num- 

millia  inillium,  ber  of  them  was  ten  thousand 

times  ten  thousand,  and  thou- 
sands of  thousands : 

Dicentium  voce  magna:  Dig-  Saying    with    a    loud    voice, 

nus  est  Agnus,  qui  occisus  est,  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was 

accipere  virfiitem  et  divinitatem,  slain   to    receive   power,   and 

et  sapientiam  et  fortitudinem,  et  riches,   and  wisdom,  and 

honorem  et  glorinm,  et  benedic-  strength,  and  honour,  and  glory, 

tionem.  and  blessing. 

*  Gardiner,  "  Bible  as  Literature,"  p.  josf. 


7%  Makers  of  the  Bible 

Et  omnem  creaturam,  quae  in  And  every  creature  which  is 

coelo    est,   et   super   terrain   et  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and 

sub  terra,  et  quae  sunt  in  mari,  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are 

et  quae  in  eo,  omnes  audivi  di-  in  the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in 

centes:    Sedenti   in    throno,    et  them,  heard  I  saying,  Blessing 

Agno :  Benedictio  et  honor,  et  and  honour,  and  glory,  and 

gloria    et    potestas    in    saecula  power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth 

saeculorum.  upon  the  throne,  and  imto  the 

Lamb  for  ever  and  ever. 

Et  quatuor  animalia  dicebant:  And    the    four    beasts    said, 

Amen.     Et  viginti  quatuor  se-  Amen.      And    the    four    and 

niores  ceciderunt  in  fades  suas  twenty    elders    fell    down    and 

et     adoraverunt     viventeni     in  worshipped  him  that  liveth  for 

saecula  saeculorum.  ever  and  ever. 

So  we  have  come  to  feel  that  our  English  Bible  owes 
a  large  debt  to  the  Vulgate,  and  that  much  of  its  match- 
less beauty  and  power  come  from  the  Latin  of  Jerome. 
This  has  long  been  recognized  and  was  beautifully  ex- 
pressed by  the  translators  of  the  King  James  Bible,  a 
tribute  to  the  author  of  the  Vulgate  in  which  Christian 
people  now  generally  unite :  ^ 

This  moved  S,  Jerome,  a  most  learned  Father  and  the  best 
linguist  without  controversy,  of  his  age,  or  of  any  that  went  be- 
fore him,  to  undertake  the  translating  of  the  Old  Testament,  out 
of  the  very  fountains  themselves :  which  he  performed  with  evi- 
dence of  great  learning,  judgment,  industry,  and  faithfulness,  that 
he  hath  forever  bound  the  Church  unto  him,  in  a  debt  of  special 
remembrance  and  thankfulness. 

'Cambridge  English  Classics,  Reprint  of  Authorized  Version  of  :6ii, 
Preface,  "  Translators  to  the  Reader,"  p.  i6. 


VII 

THE  COPYISTS :  BASES  OF  THE  TEXT 

Study  Outline 

1.  Look  up  in  encyclopedias  and  Bible  dictionaries  the 
articles  on  "  Versions  "  and  consider  how  they  form  a 
basis  of  our  English  Bible. 

2.  Look  up  in  the  references  some  of  the  early  Church 
Fathers,  and  consider  how  their  quotations  of  Scripture 
help  scholars  now  to  establish  the  text  of  the  Bible. 

3.  Find  what  information  you  can  in  the  references 
about  the  important  manuscripts  of  the  Bible,  mastering 
in  outline  the  story  of  such  manuscripts  as  Codex  Alex- 
andrinus,  Vaticanus,  Bezae,  Sinaiticus,  Washington,  and 
others. 

4.  Read  the  account  of  the  modern  discovery  of  the 
papyri,  and  tell  what  they  contribute  toward  our  informa- 
tion about  the  bases  of  the  Bible. 

5.  What  can  you  say  of  the  character  of  these  textual 
witnesses  and  their  contribution  to  our  conception  of  the 
Bible? 

Scripture  References  and  Helps 

Genesis  6:3;  Psalm  139  :  7f . ;  Matthew  5  to  7;  19  : 
17;  Z\7',7  \  18;  Luke  2  :  2;  John  20  :  10,  25;  3  :  5; 
Genesis  49  :  lOf.;  Mark  16  :  14,  15. 

Price,  "Ancestry  of  English  Bible,"  Ch.  II,  XIII, 
XIV. 

79 


80  Makers  of  the  Bible 

Cobern,  "  New  Archeological  Discoveries,"  pp.  3-97, 
132-210. 

Gregory,  "  Canon  and  Text  of  the  New  Testament," 
pp.  329-353. 

Bible  diets,  and  encyclopedias,  arts.  ''  Versions," 
"  Fathers,"  "  Papyri,"  "  Manuscripts  "  (also  the  "  Helps  " 
in  Teachers'  Bibles). 

Conley,  "  Bible  in  Modern  Light,"  pp.  58-74. 

Lake,  "  Text  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp.  11-21,  22-46. 

Vincent,  "  History  of  Textual  Criticism,"  pp.  8-41. 

H.  D.  B.,  1  vol.  ed.,  pp.  909-911,  §§7-20,  art.  "Texts, 
Versions,  Languages  of  Old  Testament";  pp.  916-924, 
§§1-32,  "  Text  of  New  Testament." 

Standard  Bible  Diet.,  art.  "New  Testament  Text," 
§§1-4,  pp.  580,  581;  art.  "Old  Testament  Text,"  §§1-8, 
pp.  601-603. 

The  primary  object  of  the  great  versions  just  studied 
was,  of  course,  to  enable  people  who  did  not  know  the 
original  to  read  the  Scriptures  in  a  tongue  spoken  by 
them.  But  now  for  us  today  they  serve  another  end. 
With  other  translations  they  have  become  valuable  wit- 
nesses to  the  text  of  Scripture  and  provide  scholars  with 
readings  which  serve  to  throw  light  upon  obscure  pas- 
sages. In  so  far  the  versions  become  one  of  the  bases  of 
our  modern  Bible,  and  the  Revised  Version  not  infre- 
quently appeals  to  their  variant  readings.  So,  for  ex- 
ample, the  marginal  note  to  Genesis  6:3,  where  we  read : 
"  Or,  rule  in.    Ace  to  Sept.,  Vulg.,  and  Syr.,  abide  in." 

A  second  basis  for  the  Bible,  as  we  know  it,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  quotations  from  Scripture  made  by  early 
Christian  leaders  who  followed  our  New  Testament  writ- 
ers.   They  are  commonly  known  as  Church  Fathers,  and 


The  Copyists:  Bases  of  the  Text  81 

their  quotations  of  Biblical  passages  are  called  patristic 
citations.  Of  these  the  most  important  are  early,  though 
as  a  rule  loose,  seldom  giving  the  exact  words  of  Scrip- 
ture in  the  form  we  have  it.  Unfortunately  for  the 
general  reader  the  revisers  of  the  American  Standard 
Version  have  not  indicated  their  sources  of  readings  so 
far  as  to  mention  the  Church  Fathers.  Yet  some  of  them 
are  of  such  importance  as  to  justify  a  few  illustrative 
quotations  from,  or  rather  reflections  of,  the  Bible  as 
found  in  their  writings. 

Clement  of  Rome,  writing  to  the  Corinthians  about  the 
end  of  the  first  century,  quotes  both  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  sometimes  accurately,  sometimes  inaccurately, 
and  sometimes  so  vaguely  as  to  be  in  effect  a  mere  allu- 
sion. Here  is  a  reasonably  accurate  quotation  of  a  familiar 
passage,  though  Clement  does  not  indicate  its  place  in 
Scripture : 

For  somewhere  the  Scripture  says,  "  Where  shall  I  go,  and 
where  shall  I  conceal  myself  from  thy  presence?  If  I  ascend 
into  heaven,  thou  art  there ;  if  I  go  away  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
there  is  thy  right  hand;  if  I  make  my  bed  in  the  abyss,  there  is 
thy  spirit"   (1  Clem.  28  :  3,  quoting  Ps.   139  :  7f.). 

And,  again,  quoting  familiar  New  Testament  passages, 
he  shows  the  other  characteristic : 

For  he  spoke  thus,  "  Show  mercy,  that  you  may  receive  mercy ; 
forgive,  that  it  may  be  forgiven  you ;  as  you  do,  so  shall  it  be  done 
unto  you;  as  you  give,  so  shall  it  be  given  unto  you;  as  you  judge, 
so  shall  you  be  judged;  as  you  are  kind,  so  shall  kindness  be 
shown  to  you ;  with  what  measure  you  measure,  with  it  shall  it  be 
measured  unto  you"  (1  Clem.  13  :  2,  quoting  from  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount). 

Ignatius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  a  few  years  later  than 
Clement,  writing  to  the  Christians  of  ancient  Philadelphia, 


82  Makers  of  the  Bible 

shows  somewhat  more  freedom  in  his  method  of  treat- 
ing Scripture.  "  For  it  (the  Spirit)  knows  whence  it 
comes  and  whither  it  goes"  (Ignatius,  Philadelphians 
7  :  1,  reflecting  John  3:8).  In  similar  fashion  Justin 
Martyr,  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  reflects 
a  considerable  amount  of  Biblical  material  in  varying  de- 
grees of  verbal  accuracy.  In  one  passage  he  quotes  Gene- 
sis as  follows : 

A  ruler  shall  not  fail  from  Judah,  nor  a  leader  from  his  thighs, 
until  shall  come  that  for  which  he  is  set;  and  he  shall  be  himself 
the  expectancy  of  nations,  binding  his  foal  to  a  vine,  washing  his 
robe  in  the  blood  of  a  grape  (Apology,  32  :  1,  quoting  Genesis 
49  :  lOf.). 

These  and  many  more  similar  quotations  of  Scripture 
in  the  Fathers  suggest  that  while  patristic  citations  have 
a  greater  value  than  hitherto  admitted  as  a  witness  to  the 
text  of  the  Bible,  they  must  be  used  with  extreme  care. 
When,  however,  they  support  the  best  manuscripts  and 
versions,  as  they  do  at  times,  they  give  testimony  to  the 
correct  text  of  the  Bible  that  is  invaluable.  Such  an 
instance  of  agreement  of  the  best  Fathers  with  the  best 
versions  and  manuscripts  is  found  in  the  Revised  Ver^ 
sion's  reading  of  Matthew  19  :  17,  "  Why  askest  thou  me 
concerning  that  which  is  good  ?  "  where  the  margin  gives 
a  note :  "  Some  ancient  authorities  read.  Why  callest  thou 
me  good?    None  is  good  save  one,  even  God." 

By  this  time  the  third  and  most  important  basis  of 
the  English  Bible  has  suggested  itself,  the  manuscripts. 
These  are  very  numerous,  amounting  to  thousands  in  all 
degrees  of  incompleteness,  and  consisting  of  both  parch- 
ment and  papyrus  documents.  These  latter  are  fragmen- 
tary, yet  because  of  their  early  date  are  of  more  than 


The  Copyists:  Bases  of  the  Text  83 

passing  interest.  Some  of  the  manuscripts,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  parchment  or  vellum  codices,  are  written  in  capital 
letters  (uncials),  corresponding  to  hand-printed  docu- 
ments, while  others  are  written  in  ordinary  long  hand 
and  are  called  cursives. 

The  story  of  the  modern  discoveries  of  papyri  is  a 
romance.  Relatively  little  was  accomplished  in  this  field 
of  archeological  discovery  before  1890,  when  the  long-lost 
work  of  Aristotle  on  the  Constitution  of  Athens  was 
brought  to  light.  A  few  years  later  Doctor  Grenfell  and 
Doctor  Hunt,  excavating  the  site  of  ancient  Oxyrhynchus, 
situated  in  the  Fayum  of  Egypt,  some  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  south  of  Cairo,  discovered  vast  numbers  of 
Greek  papyri  and  caused  a  sensation  by  the  treasures  from 
antiquity  they  were  able  to  present  to  the  world  of  schol- 
ars. Documents  of  all  sorts  were  included  in  this  epochal 
discovery;  portions  of  the  ancient  classics,  coroners'  re- 
ports, official  tax-lists,  invitations  to  dinners,  private  let- 
ters, business  accounts — a  vast  body  of  documents  reflect- 
ing every-day  life  in  the  centuries  just  preceding  and  just 
after  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  Here  is  a  sample 
dinner  invitation  of  the  second  century  A.  D. :  ^  "  An- 
tonius,  son  of  Ptolemaeus,  invites  you  to  dine  with  him 
at  the  table  of  the  lord  Serapis  in  the  house  of  Claudius 
Serapion  on  the  16th  at  9  o'clock." 

But  naturally  we  are  more  particularly  interested  in 
the  Biblical  texts  among  these  papyri,  which  date  back 
at  least  a  hundred  years  earlier  than  other  known  manu- 
scripts of  the  New  Testament.  One  of  the  earliest  of 
these  is  a  single  leaf,  written  in  capitals,  dating  from  the 
third  century  A.  D.  It  contains  over  half  of  the  first 
chapter  of  Matthew.    It  is  one  of  the  oldest  known  manu- 

^  Milligan,  •*  Greek  Papyri,"  No.  39,  P-  97- 


84  Makers  of  the  Bible 

scripts  of  any  part  of  the  New  Testament,  and  supports 
that  type  of  text  represented  by  the  Westcott  and  Hort 
Greek  Testament.  Another  papyrus  text  from  this  same 
century,  perhaps  a  bit  older  than  the  one  just  mentioned, 
contains  parts  of  chapters  8  and  9  of  Paul's  Letter  to  the 
Romans.  The  papyrus  book  of  which  this  leaf  was  a  part 
was  only  four  and  a  half  inches  high  by  about  two  in 
width.  The  leaf  is  badly  mutilated,  but  scholars  have 
been  able  to  read  the  familiar  words :  ^ 

As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of 
God  .  .  .  children  of  God.  .  .  and  if  children  .  .  .  joint  heirs  .  .  . 
I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death  .  .  .  nor  powers  .  .  .  nor  height 
.  .  .  nor  depth  .  .  .  shall  be  able  to  separate  us. 

One  more  of  these  recently  found  N^ew  Testaments  is  a 
fifth  century  Gospel  fragment  of  nearly  seven  hundred 
lines.  Cobern,  in  the  work  just  cited  above,  gives  a  vivid 
description  of  this  four-gospel  Testament :  ^ 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  given  with  almost  absolute  verbal 
perfection.  .  .  In  many  other  places  there  are  slight  variations  in 
spelling.  .  .  In  Matthew  3  :  7  the  scribe  uses  a  synonym  for 
"  warned."  .  .  In  Luke  2  :  2  the  name  of  the  governor  Quirinius  is 
misspelled  ...  in  verse  25  (of  John  20)  a  particle  is  inserted  and 
in  verse  10  the  reading  is  "  so  they  went  back  to  the  disciples."  .  . 
The  only  variation  in  sense  in  any  passages  is  in  Matthew  7  :  18, 
where  instead  of  writing  "  neither  can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth 
good  fruit,"  this  ancient  copyist  has  written  "neither  can  a  good 
tree  bring  forth  good  fruit."  The  early  Christian's  love  for  his 
Bible  is  seen  from  the  fact  that  instead  of  mutilating  the  text 
some  reader  far  back  in  that  ancient  world  has  put  in  the 
margin — "  sic !  " 

Of  the  many  manuscripts  we  can  notice  but  two  or 
three.     One  of  the  most  interesting  is  also  one  of  the 

'Cobern,  "New  Archeological  Discoveries,"  p.  154*. 
■  "  New  Archeological  Discoveries,"  p.  i59- 


The  Copyists:  Bases  of  the  Text  85 

most  recent  "  finds."  In  December,  1906,  Mr.  Freer,  of 
Detroit,  bought  four  great  manuscripts  of  an  Arab  dealer 
in  Gizeh,  near  Cairo.  The  third  one  of  this  group  is  a 
fine  copy  of  the  Gospels,  ranking  with  the  leading  manu- 
scripts of  tlie  world  in  age  and  completeness.  This  splen- 
did New  Testament  gospel  volume  is  now  located  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  in  the  Smithsonian  Institute  and  so 
in  a  peculiar  manner  belongs  to  the  United  States.  It 
is  referred  to  by  the  letter  W  in  scholars'  discussions  of  it. 
Its  age  is  remarkable,  the  manuscript  being  not  later  than 
the  sixth  century  A.  D.  and  possibly  as  early  as  the  fourth. 
It  is  written  on  parchment  of  good  quality  and  was  ap- 
parently intended  for  a  magnificent  copy.  It  contains 
187  leaves  (374  pages)  written  in  one  column,  thirty  lines 
to  the  page.  The  Gospels  are  practically  complete  and 
stand  in  the  order,  Matthew,  John,  Luke,  Mark.  The 
text  of  this  copy  of  the  Gospels  is  marked  by  numerous 
additions  and  some  striking  omissions  as  compared  with 
that  type  presented  in  the  Revisers'  text,  from  which  our 
Revised  Version  was  translated.  For  instance,  in  Mark 
16,  between  verses  14  and  15  W  inserts  an  eccentric 
addition  in  which  the  disciples  defend  or  excuse  them- 
selves and  Jesus  replies  to  that  defense. 

And  they  made  excuse,  saying,  This  age  of  lawlessness  and  un- 
belief is  under  Satan,  who  by  the  unclean  spirits,  does  not  allow 
us  power  to  comprehend  the  truth  of  God.  Wherefore  reveal 
thy  righteousness  at  once,  they  said  to  the  Christ.  And  the  Christ 
answered  them,  Fulfilled  is  the  limit  of  the  years  of  Satan's 
authority,  but  other  dangers  are  come  near.  And  I  was  delivered 
unto  death  for  sinners,  that  they  might  turn  to  the  truth  and  no 
longer  sin,  in  order  that  they  might  inherit  the  glory  of  righteous- 
ness, which  (glory)  is  in  heaven,  spiritual  and  incorruptible.* 

♦From  Goodspeed's  text,  "Biblical  World,"  March,  1908,  pp.  218-226. 


86  Makers  of  the  Bible 

Naturally,  critics  are  divided  on  the  authenticity  of  the 
reading,  such  scholars  as  Goodspeed  and  Cobern  feeling 
that  the  addition  is  so  unlike  Jesus'  sayings  and  so  dif- 
ferent from  other  parts  of  Mark's  Gospel  as  to  be  no 
original  part  of  our  second  Gospel,^  while  Moffatt  says  ® 
that  the  passage  originally  belonged  to  the  section  in 
which  it  stands,  but  was  for  some  reason  removed  at 
an  early  date. 

Another  of  the  most  important  manuscripts  of  the 
Bible  is  a  fourth-century  codex  in  the  Vatican  Library  at 
Rome  and  so  named  Vaticanus.  It  is  designated  by  the 
letter  B.  This  is  generally  regarded  as  on  the  whole 
the  most  valuable  of  all  the  manuscripts  of  the  Greek 
Bible.  It  is  written  on  fine  vellum,  in  a  small,  neat 
capital  (uncial)  letter,  with  three  narrow  columns  of 
writing  to  a  page.  The  leaves  are  nearly  ten  inches 
square  and  number  at  present  759.  It  once  contained, 
probably,  all  the  Greek  Bible  complete,  but  in  the  vicissi- 
tudes through  which  it  has  passed  it  has  lost  considerable 
both  from  the  Old  Testament  and  from  the  New.  There 
is  a  note  of  sadness  in  the  history  of  this  old  Bible.  Until 
recent  years  scholars  were  denied  access  to  B.  Its 
guardians  for  long  years  refused  to  publish  its  readings, 
and  when  they  did,  the  work  was  so  badly  done  as  to  be 
almost  worthless.  In  1843  the  German  scholar  Tischen- 
dorf  spent  some  months  in  Rome,  but  was  permitted  to 
study  the  manuscript  for  only  six  hours  on  two  days. 
And  an  English  textual  critic  spent  nearly  half  the  year 
1845  in  Rome,  but  was  allowed  only  the  privilege  any 
traveler  might  expect — a  brief  glance  at  the  treasure  he  so 
longed  to  study.    In  the  case  of  B,  too,  scholars  differ 

^"Biblical  World,"  March,   1908,  p.   223,  and  "New  Archeological  Dis- 
coveries," p.  164. 

«  "  New  Translation  of  New  Testament,"  p.  67. 


The  Copyists:  Bases  of  the  Text  S7 

as  to  the  value  of  the  text  preserved,  but  some  of  the 
leading  textual  students  of  all  times  have  regarded  it  as 
a  close  approximation  to  the  very  original  text  of  Scrip- 
ture, particularly  in  the  New  Testament. 

But  the  romance  of  the  history  of  textual  criticism 
comes  to  its  fullest  expression  in  connection  with  the 
Sinaitic  Greek  Bible,  last  known  to  be  at  Petrograd.  This 
is  a  vellum  codex  of  346^  leaves  with  the  uncial  writing 
in  four  columns  to  the  page,  dating  from  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. Its  text  is  very  much  like  that  of  Vaticanus. 
When  the  two  agree,  as  they  often  do,  they  are  regarded 
as  of  very  high  authority.  In  fact,  it  is  primarily,  if  not 
entirely,  to  the  influence  of  these  two  manuscripts  together 
that  the  textual  differences  between  the  King  James  Bible 
and  the  Revised  Version  are  due. 

The  story  of  the  discovery  of  Sinaiticus  has  often  been 
told  but  may  be  repeated  here  for  its  own  sake.  Tischen- 
dorf  was  the  happy  man  to  find  this  treasure.  He  tells 
of  the  discovery  himself,  as  he  was  in  the  convent  of  St. 
Catherine  at  Mt.  Sinai,  in  the  following  simple  but 
dramatic  words :  ^ 

I  perceived  in  the  middle  of  the  great  hall  a  large  and  wide 
basket  full  of  old  parchments ;  and  the  librarian,  who  was  a  man 
of  information,  told  me  that  two  heaps  of  papers  like  this  moldered 
by  time  had  been  already  committed  to  the  flames.  What  was  my 
surprise  to  find  amid  this  heap  of  papers  a  considerable  number 
of  sheets  of  a  copy  of  the  Old  Testament  in  Greek  which  seemed 
to  me  to  be  one  of  the  most  ancient  I  had  ever  seen.  The  author- 
ities of  the  Convent  allowed  me  to  possess  myself  of  a  third  of 
these  parchments  or  about  45  sheets  all  the  more  readily  as  they 
were  destined  for  the  fire.  But  I  could  not  get  them  to  yield  up 
possession  of  the  remainder. 

■^Quoted  by  Cohern,  "New  Archeological  Discoveries,"  p.  133,  from 
"  Narrative  of  the  Discovery  of  the  Sinaitic  Manuscript,"  i866,  p.  28 


8S  Makers  of  the  Bible 

This  was  apparently  the  occasion  of  Tischendorf's  first 
visit  to  this  old  convent.  Some  fifteen  years  later,  in 
February  of  1859,  he  went  thither  for  a  third  search  for 
the  manuscript  he  felt  sure  was  there,  if  he  could  only 
discover  it.  But  the  search  was  apparently  to  be  in  vain, 
as  the  other  visits  had  been,  for  Tischendorf  ordered 
the  camels  to  be  ready  to  take  him  away  the  following 
morning.  The  chief  steward  of  the  monastery  invited 
him  that  night  to  his  room  for  a  last  visit.  As  the  eager 
manuscript  hunter  could  talk  of  nothing  else,  the  con- 
versation turned  inevitably  to  the  subject.  The  steward 
declared  that  he  too  had  a  Septuagint  manuscript  and 
then  took  down  from  a  shelf  some  old  leaves  wrapped 
up  in  a  cloth  and  showed  them  to  Tischendorf. 

I  unrolled  the  cover  [continues  the  story]  and  discovered  to  my 
suprise  not  only  those  very  fragments  which  fifteen  years  before 
I  had  taken  out  of  the  basket,  but  also  other  parts  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  New  Testament  complete,  and  in  addition  the  Epistle  of 
Barnabas  and  a  part  of  the  "  Pastor  of  Hermas."  .  .  I  knew  that  I 
held  in  my  hands  the  most  precious  Biblical  treasure  in  existence, 
a  document  whose  age  and  importance  exceeded  that  of  all  the 
manuscripts  which  I  had  ever  examined  during  twenty  years  of 
study  of  the  subject.  .  .  On  the  27th  of  September  I  returned 
to  Cairo.  The  monks  and  archbishops  then  warmly  expressed  their 
thanks  for  my  jealous  efforts  in  their  cause  and  the  following  day 
I  received  from  them,  under  the  form  of  a  loan,  the  Sinaitic  Bible 
to  carry  to  St.  Petersburg  and  there  to  have  it  copied  as  accurately 
as  possible.  I  set  out  for  Egypt  early  in  October,  and  on  the  19th 
of  November  I  presented  to  their  Imperial  Majesties  in  the  Winter 
Palace  at  Tsarkoe-Selo  my  rich  collection  of  old  Greek,  Syriac, 
Coptic,  Arabic,  and  other  manuscripts  in  the  middle  of  which  the 
Sinaitic  Bible  shone  like  a  crown.^ 

Such  are  the  sources  of  supply  for  the  text  of  our  Bible 
today.    They  are  often  fragmentary,  yet  so  numerous  that 

*  Cobern,  ibid.,  p.  134. 


The  Copyists:  Bases  of  the  Text  89 

scholars  have  been  enabled  to  supply  what  is  lacking 
in  one  from  the  readings  of  others,  and  so  restore  what 
is  generally  admitteci  to  be,  in  the  case  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment at  least,  a  very  close  approach  to  the  readings  of 
the  actual  autographs.  But  the  stor>'  of  the  manuscripts 
and  versions  reminds  us  again  of  the  perishable  character 
of  the  **  earthen  vessels  "  in  which  we  have  this  treasure 
of  God's  revelation  of  himself  to  man,  and  inspires  us  to 
win  by  hard  effort  and  unswerving  devotion  to  the  truth 
the  message  contained  in  the  Scriptures.  In  this  light  the 
Bible  becomes  for  us  a  "  Promised  Land  "  of  truth  which 
we  must  conquer  and  appropriate,  if  we  are  to  enter  into 
possession  of  its  teachings,  and  we  own  of  it  only  what 
we  by  earnest  study  and  sympathetic  appreciation  make 
over  into  our  spiritual  life  and  vitalize  with  our  own 
personality. 


VIII 

NEED  OF  A  TEXT:  MATERIALS  FOR 
MAKING  IT 

Study  Outline 

1.  Consider  the  marginal  note  on  Jeremiah  10  :  11. 
Is  this  verse  itself  an  early  marginal  note  which  has 
gotten  copied  into  the  text?  See  if  you  can  find  others 
like  it. 

2.  Find  some  marginal  notes  in  your  Bible  wherein 
Hebrew  or  Greek  names  and  terms  are  explained:  as 
Hosea  1:6;  Acts  19  :  31  marg. 

3.  Look  up  any  marginal  notes  on  1  Samuel  19  :  9  and 
find  others  giving  similar  variant  translations  of  the  same 
Hebrew  or  Greek  words.    Cf.  Mark  7  :  3. 

4.  Find  some  variations  in  the  margin  of  your  Bible 
which  can  be  adequately  explained  only  as  deliberate 
changes  by  scribes.  Consider  in  this  connection  2  Samuel 
24  :  1  with  1  Chronicles  21  :  1.  Notice  also  in  this 
connection  John  7  :  8,  10. 

5.  Study  the  variations  recorded  on  Jeremiah  27  :  1 
and  Acts  8  :  37,  and  try  to  explain  how  such  changes 
could  arise. 

6.  Do  the  same  with  another  class  of  variants,  like 
Psalm  100  :  3;  1  Timothy  3  :  16.  Find  others,  and  ex- 
plain how  they  have  arisen. 

7.  Sum  up  in  a  brief  statement  the  significance  of  such 
variations  in  the  text  of  the  Bible  for  the  history  of  the 
Biblical  text. 

90 


Need  of  a  Text:  Materials  for  Making  It  91 

Scripture  References  and  Helps 

Judges  10  :  11;  Matthew  12  :  40;  John  7  :  53  to  8  : 
11 ;  Rosea  1  :  6,  9;  Acts  9  :  36;  19  :  31 ;  8  :  37;  Revela- 
tion 9  :  11;  Exodus  34  :  13;  Job  41  :  1;  Matthew  5  : 
46;  Genesis  11  :  2;  13  :  11;  Mark  7  :  3;  2  Kings  8  :  10; 
20  :  7f. ;  1  Chronicles  21  :  1 ;  2  Samuel  24  :  1 ;  Judges 
3  :  24;  4;  1  Samuel  24  :  3;  13  :  1 ;  12  :  11 ;  14  :  18; 
John  7  :  8,  10;  5  :  4;  Jeremiah  27  :  1,  3,  12,  20;  28  :  1, 
2;  Psalm  100  :  3;  Proverbs  10  :  10;  10:  8;  1  Timothy 
3  :  16;  Isaiah  38  :  21f. 

Price,  "  Ancestry  of  Enghsh  Bible,"  pp.  1-12  and  20-35. 

Gregory,  "  Canon  and  Text  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp. 
508-528. 

Vincent,  "  History  of  Textual  Criticism,"  pp.  1-7. 

Hastings'  Diet,  of  Bible,  1  vol.  ed.,  art.  **  Text,  Ver- 
sions, Languages  of  Old  Testament,"  pp.  912-916,  §§21- 
40;  ibid.,  *' Text  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp.  927,  928, 
§§46-49. 

The  foregoing  chapters  have  suggested  the  need  of  a 
well-established  text  of  Scripture  and  also  the  source  of 
valuable  materials  for  the  reconstruction  of  that  text. 
If  we  were  in  possession  of  the  original  copies  of  Biblical 
books  precisely  as  they  left  the  hands  of  the  writers  in 
each  instance,  our  task  would  be  simply  to  translate  these 
autographs  as  well  as  possible.  But  the  bases  of  our 
Bible  are  manuscripts,  versions,  and  patristic  citations, 
transmitted  in  documents  which  have  been  copied  over 
and  over  through  hundreds  of  years.  Almost  inevitably 
errors  of  various  kinds  crept  into  the  text;  omissions, 
repetitions,  additions,  blunders,  all  causing  variations  from 
the  original  writing.    Moreover,  copyists  very  early  began 


92  Makers  of  the  Bible 

to  make  comments  about  the  text  they  were  transcribing, 
and  interpreters  tried  to  explain  the  meaning  of  obscure 
passages.  These  comments  and  explanations  were  very 
naturally  placed  in  the  margins  of  the  copies  being  made. 

In  very  early  times,  because  of  the  scarcity  of  writing 
materials,  marginal  notes  were  relatively  few  and  brief. 
In  Jeremiah  10  :  11  we  have,  in  all  probability,  an  in- 
stance of  an  early  marginal  note  which  was  later  copied 
into  the  body  of  the  text.  A  modern  marginal  note  on 
this  verse  warns  us  that  it  is  written  in  Aramaic.  This 
means  that  right  in  the  midst  of  a  passage  in  Hebrew  this 
one  verse  is  in  a  different  dialect.  Moreover,  when  we 
read  the  preceding  and  the  following  verses  continuously, 
omitting  this  verse,  we  notice  that  its  omission  does  not 
break  the  connection.  Hence  the  verse  looks  like  a  mar- 
ginal note  introduced  into  the  text  by  a  later  scribe.  It 
may  have  been  at  first  simply  a  note  in  the  margin  telling 
pious  Jews,  when  invited  to  engage  in  the  religious  rites 
of  their  heathen  neighbors,  how  to  answer  such  invita- 
tions.^ The  same  thing  has  happened  in  Isaiah  38  :  21  f., 
where  we  are  able  to  correct  an  insertion  at  a  wrong 
place  by  a  parallel  passage.  By  comparing  these  verses 
in  Isaiah  with  the  corresponding  passage  in  2  Kings  20  : 
7,  8  we  learn  the  true  place  of  the  verses.  The  most  natu- 
ral explanation  of  the  misplacement  in  Isaiah  is  that  of  a 
marginal  addition  afterward  inserted  by  a  scribe  in  the 
wrong  place. 

In  the  New  Testament  essentially  the  same  thing  has 
happened  in  Matthew  12  :  40,  a  copying  into  the  text 
of  an  originally  marginal  explanation  by  some  one  of 
Girist's  reference  to  Jewish  literature.  This  is  suggested 
by  the  divergences  of  Matthew  12  :  39-41  from  the  par.il- 

^  Cf.  Brown,  "  American  Commentary  on  Jeremiah,"  p.  92. 


Need  of  a  Text:  Materials  for  Making  It         93 

lel  passage  in  Luke  11  :  30-32  and  the  difficulties  in  the 
verse  under  consideration.  Some  early  Qiristian  teacher 
desired  to  explain  what  might  seem  obscure  to  some  read- 
ers, and  he  therefore  noted  his  explanation  of  the  sign 
of  Jonah  in  the  margin  of  his  copy.  Later,  but  before 
the  date  of  our  earliest  and  best  manuscripts  of  the  New 
Testament,  some  other  copyist,  feeling  the  aptness  of  the 
explanation,  wrote  the  note  into  the  text  of  the  transcript 
he  was  making,  and  thus  the  verse  found  its  place  in 
the  midst  of  the  words  of  Jesus.  A  longer  passage  re- 
flecting substantially  the  same  practise  is  found  again  in 
the  section  of  the  Gospel  of  John,  7  :  53  to  8  :  11.  These 
verses  do  not  appear  in  the  Revised  Version  and  probably 
did  not  belong  to  the  original  text  of  this  Gospel.  If  on 
account  of  its  intrinsic  beauty  and  power  the  section  was 
nevertheless  written  by  some  scribe  at  the  end  of  his 
copy  of  this  Gospel  and  later  transferred  by  another 
copyist  to  what  seemed  to  him  a  better  place  for  it,^  fol- 
lowing 7  :  52,  then  we  have  here  an  instance  of  a  marginal 
story  copied  into  the  text  perhaps  to  be  used  in  the  early 
church,  as  it  was  later,  for  a  lesson  to  people  who  re- 
pented and  confessed  their  sins.^ 

In  our  English  Bible  the  practise  of  adding  such 
marginalia  is  said  to  have  originated  with  Tindale,*  whose 
notes,  at  first  explanatory,  became  later  bitterly  controver- 
sial. This  custom  continued  in  the  important  English 
Bibles  following  Tindale,  until  in  the  Genevan  version 
explanatory  notes  and  comments  on  the  proper  rendering 
of  passages  are  a  distinctive  feature.  In  fact,  the  aim  of 
the  author  of  the  Genevan  New  Testament  was  to  omit 

^Milligan,  "  Ncav  Testament  Documents,"  p.  187. 

3  Gregory,  "  Canon  and  Text  of  the  New  Testament,"  p.  515. 

*  Scrivener,  "  The  Authorized  Edition  of  the  English  Bible,"  p.  40. 


94  Makers  of  the  Bible 

nothing  *'  unexpounded,  whereby  he  that  is  anything  exer- 
cised in  the  Scriptures  of  God,  might  justly  complain 
of  hardness."  ^  But  abuses  crept  in,  and  the  practise 
became  intolerable.  Finally  a  reaction  set  in  against 
marginal  notes.  This  is  seen  in  that  one  of  the  rules 
laid  down  for  the  guidance  of  the  translators  of  the 
King  James  Bible :  ®  "  No  marginal  note  at  all  to  be  af- 
fixed, but  only  for  the  explanation  of  Hebrew  or  Greek 
words,  which  cannot,  without  some  circumlocution,  be  so 
briefly  and  fitly  expressed  in  the  text." 

This  suggestion  affords  us  a  convenient  point  of  de- 
parture from  which  to  begin  a  study  of  the  materials 
for  text-making,  as  found  in  the  margin  of  an  ordinary 
copy  of  the  American  Standard  Version  with  references. 
For  many  of  the  marginal  notes  will  be  found  to  consist 
in  such  explanations  of  Hebrew  and  Greek  words.  In 
Hosea  1  :  6  the  harsh  name  of  the  prophet's  daughter 
is  explained  by  a  marginal  note  as,  "  That  hath  not  ob- 
tained mercy,"  while  Unloved's  younger  brother  is  given 
even  a  harsher  name,  Lo-ammi,  "  Not  my  people  "  (Hosea 
1  :  9  and  marg.).  In  Acts  9  :  36  a  woman's  Aramaic 
name  is  interpreted  in  Greek,  which,  as  a  marginal  note 
tells  us,  signifies  in  English  "  Gazelle."  And  a  note  on 
Revelation  9:11  explains  the  Greek  name  of  the  angel 
of  the  abyss,  leader  of  the  hosts  of  demon-riders,  as  "  De- 
stroyer." 

Sometimes  these  marginal  notes  explain  terms  not  likely 
to  be  understood  by  the  uninformed  reader.  In  Exodus 
34  :  13  the  word  Asherim  is  explained  as  a  term  for  the 
wooden  symbols  of  the  goddess  Asherah.  So  in  Job 
41  :  1  "  leviathan  "  means  crocodile,  some  think,  while 

5  Quoted  in  Westcott,  "  History  of  the  English  Bible,"  p.  91. 
«  Cited  in  Westcott,  "  History  of  English  Bible,"  p.  115. 


Ne-ed  of  a  Text:  Materials  for  Making  It  95 

in  Matthew  5  :  46  the  term  '*  publicans  "  means  "  collec- 
tors or  renters  of  Roman  taxes  " ;  and  "  Asiarchs  "  are 
said  to  be  "  officers  having  charge  of  festivals,  etc.,  in  the 
Roman  province  of  Asia"  (Acts  19  :  31  marg.). 

Still  another  class  of  marginal  notes  consists  in  different 
renderings  of  the  same  expression,  or  attempts  to  make 
clear  some  term  of  the  original.  For  instance,  Genesis 
11:2  reads,  according  to  the  Revised  Version,  *'  as  they 
journeyed  east,"  with  a  note,  "  Or,  '  in  the  east.'  "  The 
King  James  version  translated  this  expression,  "  from 
the  east,"  the  original  1611  edition  having  no  marginal 
note  attached,  while  in  later  editions  of  this  same  version 
we  find  a  note  to  this  effect,  "  Or,  *  eastward.'  "  The 
same  term,  however,  in  Genesis  13  :  11  is  translated  by 
both  the  King  James  version  and  the  Revised  Version 
simply  as  "  east,"  with  no  marginal  note  at  all.  In  the 
New  Testament  Mark  7  :  3  gives  us  a  striking  note,  a 
comment  by  the  translators  on  a  Greek  expression  they 
wished  to  emphasize.  The  Revised  Version  reads,  "  ex- 
cept they  wash,  their  hands  diligently,"  the  note  being, 
"  Or,  '  up  to  the  elbow.  Gr.  with  the  fist.' "  But  the 
original  King  James  edition  rendered  the  expression  by 
these  words,  "  except  they  wash  their  hands  oft,"  adding 
the  following  interesting  note :  "  Or,  '  diligently,  in  the 
Originall,  with  the  fist :  Theophilact,  up  to  the  elbow.'  " 

But  there  are  other  variants  in  the  margins  of  our 
Bible,  more  significant  than  the  foregoing  for  the  history 
of  this  wonderful  book.  These  are  notes  of  various  kinds 
which  have  grown  out  of  the  copying  of  documents  by 
ancient  scribes.  As  the  manuscripts  were  copied  over 
and  over  again  changes  crept  into  the  text  in  great  num- 
ber and  variety.  For  purposes  of  this  study  our  illustra- 
tive examples  of  variants  due  to  scribal  changes  may  be 


96  Makers  of  the  Bible 

gathered  up  in  the  large  into  two  groups,  intentional 
changes  and  unintentional. 

The  editors  of  the  Jewish  Version  say  on  this  matter/ 
"  The  Rabbis  enumerate  eighteen  instances  in  which  the 
scribes  consciously  altered  the  text."  By  these  intentional 
changes  are  meant  those  variations  in  the  text  of  Scrip- 
ture for  which  we  get  an  adequate  explanation  only  by 
assuming  a  deliberate  intention  on  the  part  of  a  scribe 
to  alter  a  reading.  To  this  class  will  belong  such  changes 
as  we  find  in  a  marginal  note  attached  to  2  Kings  8  :  10, 
noticed  in  a  previous  chapter.  Again,  in  1  Qironicles 
21  :  1  as  compared  with  2  Samuel  24  :  1  we  find  what 
appears  to  be  a  deliberate  change  on  the  part  of  a  later 
writer  following  an  earlier  as  his  source.  In  the  Samuel 
passage  it  is  Jehovah  who,  moved  with  anger  against 
Israel,  stirs  up  David  to  number  the  people.  If,  now,  it 
seemed  offensive  to  the  Chronicler  that  Jehovah  could 
be  considered  the  direct  instigator  of  an  act  regarded  as 
sinful,  his  change  to  Satan  ("Or,  'an  adversary'")  as 
the  prime  mover  of  the  wrong  act,  though  deliberate,  is 
nevertheless  plain.  It  is  an  intentional  change  for  theo- 
logical reasons.  Once  more,  such  passages  as  Judges 
3  :  24,  1  Samuel  24  :  3,  and  others,  fall  into  this  class, 
since  some  indelicate  word  or  expression  is  deliberately 
replaced  with  some  euphemistic  phraseology.  That  pas- 
sage in  the  New  Testament  already  cited,  John  7  :  8,  10, 
probably  belongs  in  this  class  of  deliberate  changes  in  the 
text.  The  variation  may  have  been  introduced  to  save 
the  reputation  of  Jesus.  For  Porphyry,  a  third  century 
A.  D.  non-Christian  philosopher,  accused  Jesus  of  deceit 
in  this  statement.  Hence,  in  order  to  answer  that  charge 
some  copyist  may  well  have  changed  a   simple   Greek 

'Jewish  Version,  Philadelphia,   5677-1917,  Preface,  p.   X. 


Need  of  a  Text:  Materials  [or  Making  It         97 

negative  into  a  compound  one,  thus  freeing  the  narrative 
of  the  seeming  difficulty.  This  would  make  the  change 
an  intentional  variation. 

Textual  variants  of  the  second  class  are  of  various 
kinds.  Early  scribes  were  not  always  as  careful  of  the 
text  of  Scripture  as  has  sometimes  been  supposed,  nor 
were  they  as  intelligent  in  their  handling  of  it  as  many 
have  believed.  1  Samuel  13  :  1  is  a  good  illustration, 
though  a  difficult  verse.  In  the  Revised  Version  the  pas- 
sage reads:  ''  Saul  was  (forty)  years  old  when  he  began 
to  reign,"  and  a  marginal  note  says  that  "  the  number 
is  lacking  in  the  Hebrew  text,  and  is  supplied  conjec- 
turally."  The  King  James  translators  did  not  seem  to 
know  what  to  do  with  the  verse,  for  they  rendered  it, 
"  Saul  reigned  one  year ;  and  when  he  had  reigned  two 
years  over  Israel,"  with  a  note  in  the  margin  giving  as  the 
Hebrew,  ''  the  son  of  one  year  in  his  reigning."  This 
would  make  the  Hebrew  read,  "  Son  of  a  year  (was)  Saul 
in  his  reigning,  and  (he  was)  two  (?)  years  king  over 
Israel."  The  verse  is  omitted  by  the  Septuagint  alto- 
gether. How  is  the  form  of  the  verse  to  be  explained? 
The  Hebrew  of  it  is  well-nigh  incomprehensible,  and  the 
English  of  it  without  some  conjectural  addition  is  sense- 
less. Has  not  some  copyist  blundered  in  transcribing  this 
verse?  Similarly,  1  Samuel  12  :  11  tells  of  Israel's  re- 
lease from  the  hand  of  her  foes  under  the  leadership  of 
such  heroes  as  Jerubbaal,  Bedan,  Jephthah,  and  Samuel. 
But  a  marginal  note  informs  us  that  "  Bedan  "  is  "  Ace. 
to  Sept.  and  Syr.  Barak."  And  as  we  read  the  story 
of  Barak's  achievements  in  Judges  4,  comparing  that  ac- 
count with  this  recital  by  Samuel,  we  feel  that  the  name 
Bedan  has  been  ignorantly  or  carelessly  written  into 
Samuel's  address  to  Israel.     And  the  same  explanation 


98  Makers  of  the  Bible 

comes  naturally  for  a  similar  variant  in  the  text  of  Jere- 
miah 27  :  1.  This  verse,  as  it  reads,  gives  Jehoiakim  as 
the  name  of  the  king  in  whose  reign  this  prophetic  recom- 
mendation of  submission  to  Babylon  was  preached.  But 
a  note  in  the  margin  on  this  verse  suggests  that  Zedekiah 
should  have  been  written  instead  of  Jehoiakim.  And 
verses  3,  12,  20  of  this  chapter  and  1  of  chapter  28  show 
that  the  correction  is  necessary.  Possibly  this  is  an 
"  error  of  memory,"  due  to  the  attempt  of  the  copyist  to 
carry  in  mind  the  thought  rather  than  the  exact  words 
he  was  copying.®  It  may,  however,  just  as  probably  be 
an  error  due  to  the  scribe's  ignorance,  or  carelessness, 
for  27  :  1  is  practically  a  repetition  of  26  :  1.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  note  in  passing  that  the  Septuagint  omits  the 
first  verse  of  chapter  twenty-seven  altogether. 

A  somewhat  similar  instance  in  the  New  Testament 
may  be  found  in  the  passage  about  the  periodic  descent 
of  the  angel  to  trouble  the  waters  of  the  pool  of  Bethesda 
for  the  healing  of  the  sick.  (John  5:4.)  The  Revised 
Version  omits  this  verse  entirely,  with  a  marginal  note  say- 
ing that  "  many  ancient  authorities  insert  wholly  or  in 
part  *  waiting  for  the  moving  of  the  water :  4  for  an  angel 
of  the  Lord  went  down  at  certain  seasons  into  the  pool, 
and  troubled  the  water.  Whosoever  then  first  after  the 
troubling  of  the  water  stepped  in  was  made  whole,  with 
whatsoever  disease  he  was  holden.'  "  Yet  these  words  are 
correctly  omitted.  In  the  text  of  the  older  version  it 
would  seem  as  if  there  Had  been  a  double  addition.  First, 
the  clause  "  waiting  for  the  moving  of  the  water  "  may 
have  been  added,  perhaps  in  the  margin,  in  order  to 
give  point  to  the  sick  man's  remark  in  verse  7,  "  when 
the  water  is  troubled."    Then  later  another  scribe,  some- 

*  Price,  "  Ancestry  of  English  Bible,"  p.  29. 


Need  of  a  Text:  Materials  for  Making  It         99 

what  indifferent,  perhaps  ignorant,  feeling  the  need  of 
additional  explanation  and  filled  with  popular  superstition, 
copied  the  marginal  explanation  into  the  text  and  added 
the  tradition  of  the  angelic  troubling  of  the  waters  of  the 
pool.  Another  illustration  of  the  same  thing  is  found  in 
the  parallel  case  of  the  baptismal  confession  of  the 
Eunuch  in  Acts  8  :  37.  This  too  is  omitted  by  the 
Revised  Version.  This  variation  is  interesting  because  it 
found  its  way  into  the  text  from  which  the  King  James 
Bible  was  translated  from  Erasmus'  editions.  He  found 
the  reading  in  the  margin  of  one  of  his  manuscripts  and 
felt  that  it  had  been  omitted  from  the  text  "  by  the  care- 
lessness of  scribes."  ^  He  therefore  transferred  it  from 
the  margin  to  the  body  of  the  text  which  he  was  then 
printing. 

A  second  class  of  variants  unintentionally  caused  may 
be  designated  as  errors  of  ear  and  eye.  These  would 
occur  where  one  person  was  dictating  to  a  number  of 
scribes,  or  where  the  copyist  read  one  line  for  another. 
Take  the  variant  in  Psalm  100  :  3.  The  text  of  the  verse 
reads,  "  It  is  he  that  hath  made  us,  and  we  are  his."  The 
marginal  note  on  this  verse  tells  us,  "  Another  reading  is, 
'  And  not  we  ourselves.' "  A  literal  translation  of  the 
Hebrew  in  this  expression  will  make  it  clear  how  two 
scribes  could  hear  the  same  sounds  but  write  down  two 
different  words.  The  clause  in  the  text  reads  literally, 
"  He  hath  made  us,  And  to  him  we."  The  marginal 
variant  is  literally,  "  He  hath  made  us.  And  not  we."  The 
words  "  and  to  him  "  and  "  and  not "  sound  alike  in  the 
Hebrew,  and  this  variant  probably  arose  when,  on  the 
occasion  of  some  one's  dictating  to  a  number  of  scribes, 

»  Westcott  and  Hort,  "  New  Testament  in  Greek,"  II,  Notes  on  Selected 
Readings,  p.  93. 


100  Makers  of  the  Bible 

one  wrote  "  and  to  him  we "  while  another  put  down 
"  and  not  we."  ^^  Perhaps  it  was  the  scribe's  eye  that  mis- 
led him  in  the  variant  in  Proverbs  10  :  10.    We  read : 

"  He  that  winketh  with  the  eye  causeth  sorrow ; 
But  a  prating  fool  shall  fall." 

But  this  second  line  is  also  the  second  member  of  the  paral- 
lelism in  verse  8,  where  the  contrast  is  between  the  wise  in 
heart  and  the  foolish  of  lips,  though  some  hold  that  even 
there  it  is  out  of  place.^^  But  here  in  verse  10  the  con- 
trast expected  is  that  between  one  who  makes  trouble 
by  insinuation  and  malicious  hints,  and  the  wise  man  who 
does  the  opposite,  who  makes  for  peace  by  straightfor- 
ward, friendly  criticism.  And  this  is  just  what  is  found 
in  the  Septuagint : 

"  He  who  winks  deceitfully  with  his  eye  causes  sorrow 
to  men, 
But  he  who  reproves  openly  makes  peace." 

How,  now,  are  we  to  account  for  this  variant  ?  Professor 
Price  suggests  that  this  second  member,  about  frank  re- 
proof for  wrong,  was  omitted  by  a  scribe  and  then  later 
the  omission  was  supplied  by  another  copyist  from  the 
second  member  of  verse  8.^^ 

Again,  a  third  class  of  changes  appears  in  the  failure 
of  scribes  to  catch  the  sense  of  passages  they  are  transcrib- 
ing. A  possible  illustration  of  this  sort  of  variations  is 
found  in  1  Samuel  14  :  18 :  "  And  Saul  said  unto  Ahijah, 
Bring  hither  the  ark  of  God.  For  the  ark  of  God  was 
at  that  time  with  the  children  of  Israel."    The  margin 

*»  Price,  "  Ancestry  of  the  English  Bible,"  p.  29. 

"  Toy,  *'  International  Critical  Commentary  on  Proverbs,"  p.  204. 

""Ancestry  of  the  English  Bible,"  p.  28. 


Need  of  a  Text:  Materials  for  Making  It        101 

has  a  note  on  this  verse :  "  Some  editions  of  Sept. 
have,  '  Bring  hither  the  ephod.  For  he  wore  the  ephod  at 
that  time  before  Israel.' "  Perhaps  this  represents  a  de- 
liberate change  and  should  be  so  classified.  Possibly, 
however,  the  Greek  translator  of  the  passage  failed  to 
understand  the  Hebrew  correctly  and  so  introduced  the 
change  into  his  Greek  text. 

In  the  New  Testament,  1  Timothy  3  :  16  seems  to  be 
an  illustration  of  this  same  thing.  A  note  on  this  verse 
calls  attention  to  the  Revised  Version's  change  from 
"  God  "  to  "  He  who/'  asserting  that  the  reading  of  the 
older  version  "  rests  on  no  sufficient  evidence."  And  the 
best  manuscripts  are  against  the  older  version's  reading 
"  God."  Some  copyist  apparently  failed  to  catch  the  true 
meaning  of  the  passage  and  changed  a  relative  pronoun 
in  his  exemplar  to  the  noun  "  God."  The  verse  appears 
to  be  a  quotation  from  a  primitive  hymn  in  praise  of 
Christ.  If  so,  the  relative  pronoun  would  be  accounted 
for  by  the  influence  of  its  proper  antecedent.  But  the 
absence  of  this  antecedent  would  leave  a  neuter  noun 
(mystery)  before  the  relative,  and  the  copyist,  seeing 
this  neuter  noun  and  not  reading  the  passage  very  care- 
fully, would  feel  that  he  was  at  the  beginning  of  a  new 
sentence.  So  he  would  change  the  relative  pronoun  to 
"  God,"  in  order  to  begin  a  new  sentence,  a  very  slight 
alteration  in  the  Greek.  All  he  would  have  to  do  in  order 
to  effect  the  change  would  be  to  draw  a  transverse  line 
through  the  first  letter  of  the  relative  and  a  bar  above  its 
two  letters.  Thus  ^(?  becomes  WO,  "  who  '*  is  changed  to 
"  God."  Now  it  is  significant  that  early  manuscripts, 
versions,  and  quotations  of  this  text  in  the  Fathers  are 
against  this  change,  and  common  sense  is  against  it  also. 
People  would  not  naturally  apply  the  verbs  in  the  verse 


102  Makers  of  the  Bible 

to  God.  Hence  we  see  the  wisdom  of  the  revisers  in  re- 
turning to  what  was  probably  an  original  relative,  "  Who," 
or  "  He  who."    Doctor  Vaughn  says  of  this  passage :  ^^ 

The  Revised  Version  of  the  New  Testament  says  this  to  us — 
and  if  it  were  its  only  change,  it  would  have  been  worth  ten 
years  of  labor :  The  mystery  of  godliness,  the  revealed  secret  which 
has  in  it  "  reverence,"  the  right  feeling  and  attitude  of  the  soul 
toward  God  its  Author  and  Object  of  being,  is  a  Person — incarnate, 
attested,  heralded,  believed,  glorified — a  Person  whom  to  know  is 
life,  whom  to  serve  is  freedom.  He  is  not  a  doctrine,  nor  a  book, 
nor  a  creed,  nor  a  church — He  is  a  Person. 

Thus  one  might  go  on  almost  indefinitely,  for  the  num- 
ber of  such  variants  in  the  Bible  is  very  large.  The 
variations  began  early  and  continued  to  multiply  until 
the  days  of  printing.  Yet  the  large  number  of  variations 
in  the  text  of  the  Bible  need  not  disconcert  Christians.  In 
fact,  it  rather  suggests  the  abundance  of  the  materials 
which  constitute  the  evidence  for  the  text  of  Scripture. 
There  is  no  other  text  from  antiquity  so  well  supported 
as  the  text  of  our  Bible.  Speaking  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, Doctor  Hort,  one  of  the  world's  foremost  textual 
students  of  this  text,  says :  ^* 

The  proportion  of  words  virtually  accepted  on  all  hands  as 
raised  above  doubt  is  very  great,  not  less,  on  a  rough  computation, 
than  seven-eighths  of  the  whole.  The  remaining  eighth  therefore, 
formed  in  great  part  by  changes  of  order  and  other  comparative 
trivialities,  constitutes  the  whole  area  of  criticism.  .  .  In  this 
second  estimate  the  proportion  of  comparatively  trivial  variations 
is  beyond  measure  larger  than  in  the  former:  so  that  the  amount 
of  what  can  in  any  sense  be  called  substantial  variation  is  but  a 
small  fraction  of  the  whole  residuary  variation,  and  can  hardly 
form  more  than  a  thousandth  part  of  the  entire  text. 

"  Quoted  by  Schaflf,  "  Companion  to  Greek  New  Testament,"  p.  20if. 
"  "  The  New  Testament  in  Greek,"  II,  Intro.,  p.  2. 


IX 

CONSTRUCTING  THE  TEXT 

Study  Outline 

1.  From  your  previous  study  what  can  you  say  of 
changes  or  corruptions  in  the  Biblical  text?  How  early 
did  such  changes  creep  in? 

2.  Look  up  the  life-story  of  Erasmus,  and  tell  what  he 
did  for  the  establishment  of  the  New  Testament  text. 

3.  Read  the  article  ''  Textual  Criticism  "  in  any  good 
encyclopedia  and  give  a  brief  summary  of  the  progress  of 
textual  criticism  of  the  Bible. 

4.  From  your  reading  about  Codex  Bezse  and  Codex 
Washington  earlier  in  this  study  tell  briefly  the  outstand- 
ing characteristics  of  the  type  of  text  embodied  in  these 
manuscripts. 

5.  Compare  briefly  the  types  of  text  represented  by  the 
manuscripts  upon  which  the  Authorized  Version  and  the 
Revised  Version  are  based. 

Scripture  References  and  Helps 

1  John  5  :  7,  8;  Acts  10  :  25 f. ;  Luke  6  :  4;  22  :  19f.; 
24  :  53;  Mark  9  :  49;  16  :  9-20;  John  7  :  53  to  8  :  11. 

Price,  "  Ancestry  of  English  Bible,"  pp.  189-206. 

Lake,  "  The  Text  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp.  1-10  and 
59-91. 

Gregory,  "  Canon  and  Text  of  the  New  Testament," 
pp.  479-508. 

H  103 


104  Makers  of  the  Bible 

Vincent,  "  History  of  Textual  Criticism,"  pp.  1-7  and 
48-156. 

H.  B.  D.,  1  vol.  ed.,  art.  "  Text  of  the  New  Testament," 
pp.  924-927,  §§33-45. 

Peake,  "  The  Bible,  Its  Origin,  Significance,  and  Abid- 
ing Worth,"  pp.  76-87. 

Standard  Bible  Diet.,  art.  ''  New  Testament  Text,"  §5, 
p.  581f. 

The  witnesses  to  the  Biblical  text  are  many,  numbering 
well  up  in  the  thousands.  The  variations  arising  in 
these  thousands  of  authorities  amount  to  hundreds  of 
thousands.  At  first  disquieting,  this  fact  becomes  our 
greatest  assurance  for  the  correctness  of  modern  Biblical 
texts,  since  the  more  numerous  the  witnesses  the  better 
the  restoration.  The  task  of  the  textual  critic  is  to  bring 
out  of  this  mass  of  divergent  and  often  conflicting  read- 
ings the  'actual  words  of  the  original  writers,  or  as  close 
an  approximation  thereto  as  is  humanly  possible.  How 
have  scholars  gone  about  this  work  ? 

Of  course,  attempts  at  criticism  began  very  early,  since 
alterations  in  the  text  of  Scripture  were  made  soon  after 
the  books  were  written.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
wilful  corruptions  of  the  text  soon  crept  in,  since  the 
earlier  apologists  allude  to  such  practises.  Irenseus,  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  second  century  A.  D.,  declares,* 
"  The  others,  though  they  acknowledge  the  Scriptures, 
pervert  their  interpretation."  And  Tertullian,  of  North 
Africa,  says :  ^  "  Marcion  has  used  a  sword,  not  a  pen ; 
while  Valentinus  has  both  added  and  taken  away."  This 
corruption  of  the  text  went  on  apace,  till  near  the  close 

^  "  Against  Heresies,"  III,  12. 
^"  De  Prescript.  Haer.,"  p.  38. 


Constructing  the  Text  105 

of  the  fourth  century  Jerome  could  write  to  Pope  Dama- 
sus :  ® 

You  urge  me  to  revise  the  Old  Latin  version,  and,  as  it  were, 
to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  copies  of  the  Scriptures  which  are  now 
scattered  throughout  the  world;  and,  inasmuch  as  they  differ 
from  one  another,  you  would  have  me  decide  which  of  them  agree 
with  the  Greek  original.  .  .  For,  if  we  are  to  pin  our  faith  to  the 
Latin  texts,  it  is  for  our  opponents  to  tell  us  which;  for  there 
are  almost  as  many  forms  of  the  text  as  there  are  copies.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  we  are  to  glean  the  truth  from  a  comparison 
of  many,  why  not  go  back  to  the  original  Greek  and  correct  the 
mistakes  introduced  by  inaccurate  translators,  and  the  blundering 
alterations  of  confident  but  ignorant  critics,  and,  further,  all  that 
has  been  inserted  or  changed  by  copyists  more  asleep  than  awake. 

Such  corruptions  of  the  text  of  Scripture  called  forth 
attempts  at  correction  very  early,  but  little  was  done  in 
the  way  of  real  criticism  of  the  Biblical  text  before  the 
modern  era.  What  was  done  in  the  first  centuries  and 
during  the  Middle  Ages  w^as  more  in  the  nature  of  a  dis- 
cussion of  various  readings  with  comments  on  the  relative 
value  of  manuscripts  and  the  number  of  witnesses  to  a 
given  reading.  For  the  beginnings  of  the  science  of 
textual  criticism  We  must  come  down  to  the  revival  of 
learning  in  Western  Europe  and  the  invention  of  printing. 

The  history  of  the  printed  text  of  the  New  Testament 
begins  at  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Desiderius 
Erasmus,  of  Rotterdam,  vagrant  scholar  of  Europe,  felt 
that  the  Christian  religion  had  become  an  observance  of 
formalities  and  a  neglect  of  duties.  The  Christian  Scrip- 
tures, intoned  in  the  churches  by  mumbling  priests,  were 
made  unintelligible  to  the  masses.  Copies  of  the  Bible 
were  rare  and  were  generally  kept  away  from  the  people. 

'Quoted  in  Lewis,  *'  How  the  BiWe  Grew,"  p.   I47f. 


106  Makers  of  the  Bible 

Erasmus  wanted  to  give  the  New  Testament  in  its  orig- 
inal language  to  the  world,  in  order  to  arouse  Europe  to 
its  sad  condition.  In  addition  to  the  Greek  text  he  pro- 
jected a  new  Latin  translation  to  accompany  the  Greek, 
and  copious  notes  on  special  passages  in  order  to  give 
point  to  the  application  of  Scripture  to  the  customs  and 
usages  of  the  day.  He  labored  patiently  for  some  time 
upon  this  epoch-making  book.  *'  It  was  finished  at  last/' 
says  Froude,* 

text  and  translation  printed,  and  the  living  facts  of  Christianity, 
the  persons  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,  their  history,  their  lives, 
their  teaching  were  revealed  to  an  astonished  world.  For  the 
first  time  the  laity  were  able  to  see,  side  by  side,  the  Christianity 
which  converted  the  world,  and  the  Christianity  of  the  Church  and 
a  Borgia  pope,  cardinal  princes,  ecclesiastical  courts,  and  a  my- 
thology of  lies.    The  effect  was  to  be  a  spiritual  earthquake. 

Erasmus  revised  his  Greek  Testament  several  times  and 
by  these  different  editions  powerfully  influenced  the  his- 
tory of  the  New  Testament  text,  not  always  wisely,  how- 
ever. In  the  1522  revision  he  added  the  passage  about 
the  three  heavenly  witnesses  (1  John  5  :  7,  8),  inserting 
at  the  end  of  verse  7  (which  is  the  end  of  verse  6  in  the 
Authorized  Version)  "  For  there  are  three  that  bear 
record  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost :  and  these  three  are  one,"  and  in  verse  8  the  words 
"  in  earth."  This  he  did  simply  because  in  a  controversy 
with  an  opponent  he  had  promised  to  insert  the  words  if 
they  could  be  found  in  a  Greek  manuscript.  They  were 
found,  sure  enough,  in  a  clumsy  form,  retranslated  into 
Greek  from  Latin,  in  a  sixteenth  century  manuscript,  and 
Erasmus,  true  to  a  thoughtless  promise,  added  the  passage 
in  his  third  edition. 

♦  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Erasmus,"  p.  iigf. 


Constructing  the  Text  107 

But  a  text  so  made  and  so  based  on  a  few  late  manu- 
scripts could  not  long  satisfy  advancing  scholarship. 
Other  scholars  followed  Erasmus,  and  numerous  revisions 
of  the  Greek  New  Testament  were  brought  out  during  the 
century  following  his  third  edition.  Of  these,  those  by 
Estienne,  of  Paris,  are  important,  especially  his  third  edi- 
tion of  1550,  embodying  substantially  the  type  of  text  that 
later  became  the  basis  of  the  King  James  Bible.  Estienne's 
fourth  edition,  1551,  is  noted  as  being  the  first  to  appear 
with  the  text  divided  into  verses  such  as  have  since  be- 
come so  familiar.  This  device  undoubtedly  helped  to 
popularize  the  Greek  Testament,  and  the  growing  com- 
mercial spirit  of  the  age  seized  upon  the  Biblical  text  as 
a  means  of  making  money.  For  before  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century  there  were  published  in  Holland  some 
editions  so  handy  in  size  as  to  become  popular  at  once. 
The  preface  of  the  second  of  these  continental  Greek 
Testaments,  the  Elzevirs,  contained  the  words,  Textum 
ergo  habes  nunc  ah  omnihus  receptiim  ("  You  have  there- 
fore now  the  text  received  by  all"),  a  statement  giving 
name  to  the  Received  Text,  a  type  of  text  which  was 
venerated  with  almost  idolatrous  reverence  down  to  the 
close  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  which  gave  form  to 
our  Protestant  translations  before  the  days  of  the  critical 
text  upon  which  the  Revised  Version  is  based. 

After  this  early  period  of  beginnings,  which  gave  West- 
ern Europe  its  Bible  in  the  original  Hebrew  and  Greek, 
as  well  as  several  vernacular  translations,  the  history  of 
textual  criticism  is  largely  the  story  of  emancipation  from 
the  domination  of  the  Received  Text.  For  the  next  two 
hundred  years  scholars  busied  themselves  with  the  collec- 
tion of  various  textual  readings  from  new  manuscripts 
as   these   were  discovered,  and   gradually   amassed  the 


108  Makers  of  the  Bible 

textual  materials  that  resulted  in  the  revision  of  the  New 
Testament  text  toward  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Among  these  gatherers  of  materials  Dr.  John  Mill,  of 
Oxford,  early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  published  a  Greek 
Testament,  the  text  of  which,  while  substantially  like  that 
of  Estienne's  1550  edition,  was  nevertheless  accompanied 
by  readings  from  seventy-eight  additional  manuscripts 
and  several  of  the  ancient  versions.  Besides  this,  Mill 
was  the  first  to  collect  the  textual  evidence  of  patristic 
citations  to  any  noteworthy  extent.  These  materials  thus 
gathered  were  already  so  numerous,  however,  as  to  bring 
criticism  upon  the  method  and  in  particular,  after  Mill's 
death,  upon  his  edition  of  the  New  Testament.  But  a 
brilliant  fellow  worker,  Richard  Bentley,  while  admit- 
ting that  Mill's  method  clogged  the  New  Testament  with 
variations,  defended  vigorously  the  principle  of  textual 
criticism  and  made  a  plea  for  the  determination  of  the 
text  on  the  basis  of  all  the  evidence  apart  from  the 
dominance  of  any  printed  edition.  Describing  Estienne  as 
the  Protestant  pope  and  asserting  that  Catholicism  had 
no  one  competent  to  guide  the  revision  of  the  Vulgate's 
text,  he  wrote :  ^ 

The  New  Testament  has  been  under  a  hard  fate  since  the  in- 
vention of  printing.  After  the  Complutenses  and  Erasmus,  who 
had  but  very  ordinary  manuscripts,  it  became  the  property  of  book- 
sellers. .  .  No  heathen  author  has  had  such  ill  fortune.  Terence, 
Ovid,  etc.,  for  the  first  century  after  printing,  went  about  with 
twenty  thousand  errors  in  them.  But  when  learned  men  under- 
took them,  and  from  the  oldest  manuscripts  set  out  correct  editions, 
those  errors  fell  and  vanished.  But  if  they  had  kept  to  the  first 
published  text,  and  set  the  various  lections  only  in  the  margin, 
those  classic  authors  would  be  as  clogged  with  variations  as  Doctor 
Mill's  Testament  is. 

5  Vincent,  "  History  of  Textual  Criticism,"  p.  72. 


Constructing  the  Text  109 

But  though  Bentley  made  elaborate  proposals  for  the 
printing  of  a  critical  text  of  the  Greek  Testament,  he  only 
left  m.aterials  for  the  solution  of  the  problem  he  had 
raised.  In  spite  of  this  seeming  failure,  however,  hia 
work  was  of  great  importance. 

For  he  gave  the  impulse  needed  to  extend  the  field 
of  textual  criticism  out  over  the  Continent.  Here  we  find 
John  A.  Bengel,  of  Wiirtemburg,  publishing  the  text  of  a 
Greek  Testament  in  1734,  in  the  main  like  the  Received 
Text,  though  accompanied  by  his  own  preferred  readings 
in  the  margin.  Bengel,  however,  is  noted  for  having  been 
the  first  to  attempt  anything  like  a  real  classification  of 
his  authorities,  a  principle  which  was  to  become  very 
fruitful  in  the  hands  of  later  critics.  He  was  criticised 
sharply  by  J.  J.  Wetstein,  of  Basle,  who,  though  he 
equipped  his  New  Testament  of  1751-52  with  a  number 
of  various  readings  and  a  fine  series  of  illustrative  pas- 
sages from  sacred  and  profane  literature,  was  so  partial 
to  the  textual  witnesses  upon  which  the  Received  Text 
was  based  as  to  reject  the  evidence  of  the  earlier  and 
better  manuscripts.  A  more  illustrious  Continental  critic 
was  J.  J.  Griesbach,  a  native  of  Hesse  Darmstadt,  who 
published  three  editions  of  the  New  Testament  between 
1774  and  1806.  Griesbach's  contribution  to  textual  science 
as  applied  to  the  Scriptures  lay  in  his  extension  of  the 
principle  of  classification  of  the  authorities  for  the  text 
from  a  twofold  division,  Eastern  and  Western,  into  a 
threefold:  Alexandrian,  found  in  Origen  and  some  early 
versions;  Eastern,  in  vogue  at  Constantinople  and  An- 
tioch;  and  Western,  found  in  the  Latin  versions  and 
Fathers.  This  theory,  in  addition  to  classifying  the  au- 
thorities and  seeking  to  use  them  critically,  attempted  to 
vindicate  the  older  manuscripts  against  the  claims  of  the 


110  Makers  of  the  Bible 

later  authorities,  and  so  anticipated  the  most  widely  ac- 
cepted hypothesis  of  textual  criticism  today. 

In  1831  a  new  era  in  Biblical  textual  criticism  began 
with  the  appearance  of  a  New  Testament  by  Karl  Lach- 
mann.  This  scholar's  method  was  to  reject  the  mass  of 
later  authorities  and  confine  attention  to  a  small  group  of 
ancient  manuscripts,  versions,  and  Fathers.  The  best- 
known  name,  however,  in  this  field  during  the  first  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century  was  that  of  Constantine  Tischen- 
dorf.  The  romantic  story  of  his  discovery  of  the  Sinaitic 
manuscript  has  been  told.  But  he  was  just  as  much  in- 
terested in  the  use  of  the  greatly  enlarged  mass  of  textual 
materials  as  in  the  discovery  of  more.  He  published 
eight  editions  of  the  Greek  New  Testament,  the  last  one 
following  the  finding  of  Sinaiticus  and  embodying  the 
valuable  readings  of  this  fine  old  Bible.  His  chief  service 
consisted  in  adding  to  the  known  variant  readings  a 
goodly  number  from  the  chief  ancient  manuscripts  and 
so  making  possible  the  thorough-going  study  of  variations 
that  came  in  the  epoch-making  text  of  two  Englishmen, 
Westcott  and  Hort.  These  coworkers  did  not  edit  new 
manuscripts  and  gather  new  materials  but  rather  confined 
themselves  to  the  elaboration  and  application  of  the  prin- 
ciples upon  which  the  text  of  the  New  Testament  should 
be  constructed.  They  emphasized  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  documents  as  necessary  before  final  judgment  on 
divergent  readings  could  be  taken.  They  sought  a  more 
complete  grouping  of  the  authorities  for  the  text  into 
families,  and  distinguished  the  groups  of  textual  wit- 
nesses which  have  since  been  almost  universally  accepted 
by  scholars.  The  Westcott  and  Hort  Greek  Testament 
appeared  in  1881,  a  few  months  after  the  Revised  Ver- 
sion was  published.    It  became  the  accepted  authority 


Constructing  the  Text  111 

for  England  and  this  country  and  has  guided  the  course 
of  textual  criticism  from  that  day  to  this.  Some  modifica- 
tions of  the  Westcott  and  Hort  theory  have  been  made 
since  it  was  first  proposed,  but  it  still  holds  the  field 
among  present-day  textual  scholars  and  "  is  presupposed 
as  the  starting-point  of  nearly  all  the  work  that  is  being 
done  in  this  department  of  New  Testament  Criticism."  ® 
Thus  we  see  that  classification  of  the  known  textual 
witnesses  into  groups,  or  types  of  text,  has  become  a 
controlling  principle,  and  it  has  given  us  the  three  or 
four  types  of  text  that  are  widely  recognized  today.  In 
very  early  times  variations  crept  into  the  New  Testament 
text,  since  scribes  felt  free  to  alter  manuscripts  they  were 
copying.  This  practise  produced  a  type  of  text  marked 
by  wide  departures  from  what  is  now  regarded  as  the 
true  text.  These  are  for  the  most  part  additions  to  the 
common  text,  though  in  a  few  striking  instances  they 
consist  in  omissions.  For  instance,  in  Acts  10  :  25  f.  the 
Revised  Version  gives : 

And  when  it  came  to  pass  that  Peter  entered,  Cornelius  met 
him,  and  fell  down  at  his  feet,  and  worshiped  him.  But  Peter 
raised  him  up,  saying,  Stand  up:  I  myself  also  am  a  man. 

But  in  this  early  popular  text  we  read: 

But  as  Peter  came  nigh  unto  Caesarea,  one  of  the  servants  ran 
forward  and  announced  that  he  had  come.  And  Cornelius  rushed 
out  and  met  him,  and  falling  at  his  feet  worshiped.  But  Peter 
said  unto  him,  What  are  you  doing.''  Worship  God;  for  I  am 
a  man  as  you  also  are. 

Another  interesting  passage  from  this  early  personal  text 
shows  essentially  the  same  characteristic.     After  Luke 

*  Kenyon,    '  Textual  Criticism  of  the  New  Testament,"  p.  308. 


1 12  Makers  of  the  Bible 

6  :  4  it  adds  the  incident  of  the  man  working  in  a  field  on 
a  Sabbath  day,  to  whom  Jesus  said :  "  O  man,  if  you 
realize  what  you  are  doing,  you  are  blessed;  but  if  you 
do  not  know  it,  you  are  cursed  and  a  transgressor  of  the 
law."  Once  more,  in  Luke  22  :  19f.,  a  marginal  note 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  "  some  ancient  authorities 
omit  *  which  is  given  for  you  .  .  .  which  is  poured  out 
for  you.'  "  This  is  one  of  the  omissions  of  this  type 
of  New  Testament  text,  which  thus  makes  it  appear  that 
at  the  institution  of  the  Supper  the  cup  preceded  the  loaf. 
It  looks  therefore,  as  if  this,  the  so-called  "  Western  " 
text,  might  have  been  a  private  and  personal  type  of  text 
rather  than  official  and  ecclesiastical,  and  hence  much 
more  freely  handled  by  Christians  in  the  second  and  third 
centuries  all  over  the  Roman  Empire. 

Another  type  of  text  is  that  which  is  largely  reflected  in 
the  Revisers'  Greek  text,  from  which  the  translation  of 
the  Revised  Version  in  English  was  made.  This  type  is 
called  the  Neutral,  or  scholarly  text,  of  the  early  church, 
and  is  generally  regarded  as  being  a  close  approximation 
to  the  original  text  of  the  New  Testament.  The  character- 
istics of  this  are  most  marked  in  contrast  with  the  promi- 
nent features  of  the  next  type  of  text  now  to  be  con* 
sidered. 

This  third  type  of  text  is  that  which  lies  back  of  the 
Authorized  Version  known  as  the  Received  Text.  In 
general,  the  readings  of  this  so-called  Syrian  text  are 
marked  by  a  tendency  to  combine  divergent  readings  and 
smooth  out  difficulties.  In  Mark  9  :  49  one  group  of  au- 
thorities reads  as  in  the  Revised  Version,  "  For  every  one 
shall  be  salted  with  fire."  The  Western,  or  popular  text, 
just  described,  has,  '*  For  every  sacrifice  shall  be  salted 
with  salt."   But  the  type  of  text  we  are  now  describing, 


Constructing  the  Text  113 

the  Syrian,  or  authoritative  text,  combines  these  two  read- 
ings into  one  and  has,  as  a  marginal  note  informs  us, 
"  For  every  one  shall  be  salted  with  fire,  and  every  sacri- 
fice shall  be  salted  with  salt."  And  this  is  just  what  is 
given  in  the  Authorized  Version,  as  we  should  expect. 
Another  illustration  will  but  confirm  the  impression  al- 
ready made  of  the  character  of  this  Syrian  text.  In  Luke 
24  :  53  the  verse  closes,  in  the  Revised  Version,  with  the 
words,  "  blessing  God."  The  Western  text  reads,  "  prais- 
ing God."  The  Syrian  text  again  combines  these  into, 
'*  praising  and  blessing  God."  Again  this  is  what  is 
given  in  the  Authorized  Version.  So,  similarly,  taking 
longer  sections  into  account,  the  Syrian  text,  and  conse- 
quently the  Authorized  Version,  includes  such  passages  as 
Mark  16  :  9-20,  written  in  the  second  century  by  an 
Asia  Minor  presbyter  named  Aristion,  as  an  old  Armenian 
manuscript  shows,  John  7  :  53  to  8  :  11,  the  story  of  the 
adulteress,  and  First  John  5  :  7f.,  the  three  heavenly  wit- 
nesses, which  was  never  rightly  a  part  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Further  study  of  the  differences  between  the 
Syrian  and  Neutral  types  of  text  will  make  clear  the 
reasons  for  the  omissions  of  the  Revised  Version  as  com- 
pared with  the  Authorized  Version.  The  Revised  Version 
agrees  most  nearly  with  the  Neutral,  or  scholarly  type 
of  text,  used  by  the  leaders  of  the  church  and  preserved 
to  us  by  the  oldest  and  best  manuscripts  of  the  Bible. 

Thus  the  work  of  establishing  the  text  of  the  New 
Testament  has  progressed.  For  the  Old  Testament  much 
more  remains  to  be  done  than  for  the  New  Testament. 
It  is  sometimes  said  that  textual  critics  only  endanger  the 
text  of  Scripture  and  unsettle  men's  faith  in  it.  But  we 
ought  to  be  thankful  for  the  work  of  these  makers  of 
the  Bible,  since  by  their  long-continued  and  devoted  study, 


1 14  Makers  of  the  Bible 

often  at  great  personal  sacrifice,  they  have  secured  for  us 
a  better  text  of  the  Bible  than  men  have  hitherto  pos- 
sessed. They  have  shown  that  the  far  greater  portion  of 
our  modern  critical  New  Testament  text  is  established 
beyond  doubt  and  that  the  variations,  so  disturbing  at  first 
thought,  hardly  form  more  than  a  mere  fragment  of  the 
entire  text.  Gregory  figures  this  to  be  about  half  a  page 
of  printed  matter  about  the  size  of  the  hand,  and  con- 
tinues suggestively :  ^ 

And  the  great  point  for  a  Christian  is  that  he  must  wish  to  have 
his  one  great  book  brought  into  the  very  best  condition  possible. 
It  would  be  strange  if  a  Christian  should  take  pains  to  have  a 
well-built  church,  and  wish  to  have  a  well-prepared  pastor,  and 
be  anxious  that  a  good  choir  be  at  command,  but  should  say: 
"  It  is  no  matter  about  the  New  Testament.  The  edition  that 
Estienne  printed  three  centuries  and  a  half  ago,  when  but  little 
was  known  about  the  text,  is  quite  good  enough  for  me."  It  is 
singular  to  see  a  man  anxious  to  have  the  latest  and  best  thing 
in  electric  lights,  but  totally  indifferent  as  to  having  the  best  text 
in  his  New  Testament. 

'  "  Canon  and  Text  of  the  New  Testament,"  p.  528. 


X 

UNDERSTANDING  THE  BIBLE 

Study  Outline 

1.  State  briefly  your  conception  of  what  the  Bible  is. 
What  does  Paul  mean  in  2  Timothy  3  :  16? 

2.  Compare  1  John  1  :  8  with  3  :  9,  Matthew  17  :  5 
with  Luke  9  :  35,  and  find  in  your  Bible  similar  verbal 
inconsistencies  and  difficulties. 

3.  Look  up  the  marginal  notes  on  1  Samuel  19  :  9  and 
James  4':  5,  and  find  in  the  margin  of  your  Bible  other 
similar  variant  translations.  Consider  the  meaning  of 
such  variations  for  your  conception  of  the  Bible. 

4.  Study  the  marginal  note  on  2  Kings  8  :  10.  Find 
other  marginal  notes  showing  variant  readings  in  the  au- 
thorities upon  which  our  Revised  Version  rests  and  state 
how  such  variant  readings  affect  your  idea  of  the  Bible. 

5.  Compare  Mark  10  :  19  and  Romans  3  :  10-18  with 
the  Old  Testament  passages  they  reflect.  Find  other 
similar  New  Testament  quotations  of  Old  Testament 
material,  and  tell  whether  the  New  Testament  writers 
and  characters  took  the  Old  Testament  literally  or  not. 

6.  Read  in  the  Appendix  to  this  book  the  excerpts  from 
the  Preface  of  the  King  James  translators,  and  state  their 
position  on  the  question  of  literalism. 

Scripture  References  and  Helps 

2  Timothy  3  :  16. 

1  John  1  :  8;  3  :  9;  2  Kings  1  :  17;  3  :  1 ;  Ecclesiastes 
1  :  15;  Luke  3  :  5. 

115 


116  Makers  of  the  Bible 

Amos  8:1;  Ezekiel  3  :  1-3. 

John  6  :  53 ;  Matthew  17:5;  Mark  9:7;  Luke  9  :  35. 

1  Samuel  19  :  9;  Malaclii  2  :  15;  Matthew  25  :  41 ; 
John  1:9;  James  4:5. 

2  Kings  8  :  10;  John  7  :  8-10;  Matthew  16  :  2f. 
Zechariah  1  :  4;  7  :  7,  12;  Daniel  9  :  2,  24-27;  Mark 

10  :  9;  Matthew  5  to  7;  2  Corinthians  3:6;  Romans 
3  :  10-18;  Psalm  14;  2  Corinthians  6  :  16f. 
2  Corinthians  4  :  7. 

Encyc.  Brit.  (11th  ed.),  art.  "Inspiration,"  vol.  XIV, 
pp.  645-648. 

Hastings'  Diet,  of  Bible,  (1  vol.  ed.),  art.  "  Bible,"  §3, 
p.  96. 

Dods,  "  The  Bible,  Origin  and  Nature,"  pp.  101-163. 

Peake,  "  The  Bible,  Its  Origin,  Significance,  and 
Worth,"  pp.  1-41. 

Conley,  "  Bible  in  Modern  Light,"  pp.  13-45. 

Gardiner,  "Bible  as  English  Literature,"  pp.  1-33. 

What,  now,  is  the  Bible?  Is  it  a  single  book,  meaning 
just  what  it  says;  or  a  collection  of  books,  saying  what  it 
means  to  us  ?  Is  it  to  be  taken  literally,  as  equal  in  all  its 
parts ;  or  is  it  to  be  interpreted,  diverse  in  content  and 
value?  These  two  views  of  the  Bible  are  sometimes  con- 
trasted as  those  of  the  historic  and  of  the  modern  faith,  as 
if  these  were  exclusive  of  and  hostile  to  each  other.  The 
first  conception,  while  not  altogether  forgetting  the 
library-character  of  the  Bible  and  the  necessity  of  inter- 
preting it,  has  nevertheless  in  the  working  theory  of  the 
vast  majority  of  its  advocates  made  the  volume  a  unit, 
equally  valuable  in  all  its  parts  and  therefore  to  be  taken 
literally.  The  second  conception  presents  the  Bible  as 
men's  record  of  their  experiences  of  God  put  down  under 


Understanding  the  Bible  117 

the  inspiration  of  the  divine  Spirit  for  the  good  of  those 
who  might  read.  Those  who  hold  the  first  view  are  for 
the  most  part  concerned  with  the  task  of  making  the 
Bible  agree  with  itself.  The  proponents  of  the  second 
view  seek  to  know  the  Biblical  teaching  historically  and 
to  apply  it  to  life  so  as  to  produce  the  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness in  conduct,  both  individual  and  social.  The  first  view 
is  formal,  the  second  is  vital.  We  modern  Christians  do 
well  to  think  through  the  problem  of  our  Bible,  since  our 
attitude  toward  the  Scriptures  will  largely  influence  our 
religious  life. 

What,  then,  is  the  Bible  ?  It  has  been  defined  as  "  the 
Book  of  God  and  the  god  of  books."  ^  Many  people  call 
it  briefly  "  the  Word  of  God  "  and  speak  of  it  as  if  it  had 
been  dictated  by  the  Almighty,  and  regard  it,  not  as  hav- 
ing grown  into  its  present  form,  but  as  having  been  pro- 
duced at  a  single  stroke  at  one  time.  Others  recognize  its 
diversity  in  time  and  authorship  and  yet  find  no  problem 
connected  with  its  history,  its  literary  development,  its 
place  and  authority  in  life.  They  make  the  Bible  one  in 
teaching  and  value,  infallible  in  all  its  statements,  and 
equally  authoritative  in  all  its  parts.  ''  The  Bible  from 
Cover  to  Cover  "  has  become  a  slogan  with  many,  who 
quote  Paul  as  referring  to  the  Bible  in  its  present  form 
(2  Tim.  3  :  16),  and  when  asked  to  explain  do  so  by  a 
ready-made  theory  rather  than  in  the  light  of  the  facts 
of  the  origin  and  history  of  the  book  and  the  events 
which  led  to  the  collection  of  those  Scriptures  we  find 
embodied  in  our  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

These  defenders  of  the  Bible  feel  that  they  honor  it  by 
holding  to  the  theory  of  its  verbal  inspiration,  and  they 
declare  themselves  literalists  who  take  the  Word  precisely 

'  McPherson,  "  Modern  Conflict  Over  the  Bible,"  p.  39f. 


118  Makers  of  the  Bible 


as  it  reads.  But  they  who  profess  the  doctrine  do  not 
consistently  apply  it  to  Scripture.  Does  the  Bible  mean 
what  it  says?  Verbal  contradictions  and  inconsistencies 
appear  here  and  there.  For  instance,  we  read, ''  If  we  say 
that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth 
is  not  in  us"  (1  John  1:8).  Again,  ''Whosoever  is 
begotten  of  God  doeth  no  sin  .  .  .  and  he  cannot  sin,  be- 
cause he  is  begotten  of  God"  (1  John  3:9).  Once 
more,  we  find  an  apparent  contradiction  in  words  in  the 
records  of  the  kings  of  Israel  and  Judah.  For  in  one 
place  the  text  reads,  "  And  Jehoram  began  to  reign  in  his 
stead  in  the  second  year  of  Jehoram  the  son  of  Jehosha- 
phat  king  of  Judah."  But  later  we  are  told  of  this  same 
king,  **  Now  Jehoram  the  son  of  Ahab  began  to  reign 
over  Israel  in  Samaria  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  Jehosha- 
phat  king  of  Judah"  (2  Kings  1  :  17;  3  :  1).  A  third 
illustration  leaves  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  in  flat 
contradiction,  if  we  must  take  the  words  of  the  Bible  just 
as  they  read.  For  in  Ecclesiastes  the  Preacher  in  his 
pessimism  declares,  "  That  which  is  crooked  cannot  be 
made  straight "  (Eccles.  1  :  15),  while  a  preacher  of  the 
new  dispensation,  quoting  from  an  optimist  of  the  old, 
hopefully  insists,  ''  And  the  crooked  shall  become 
straight"  (Luke  3:5). 

Another  class  of  statements  in  the  Bible  which  are  not 
taken  as  they  read  is  made  up  of  such  expressions  as  are 
often  found  in  the  prophets.  That  stern  poet  of  doom 
in  the  Old  Testament  says : 

"  Thus  the  Lord  Jehovah  showed  me ; 
And,  behold,  a  basket  of  summer  fruit "  (Amos  8:1). 

But  no  one  supposes  that  God  in  visible  bodily  form  was 
actually  pointing  out  fruit  to  the  prophet:  only  that  the 


Understanding  the  Bible  119 

latter  saw  such  a  basket,  was  impressed  by  it  as  a  means 
of  picturing  a  truth  he  had  for  the  people,  and  used  it  as 
a  symbol  to  convey'  the  lesson  he  felt  moved  to  teach. 
Or  again,  when  that  prophet-pastor  on  the  banks  of  the 
Chebar  tells  of  his  eating  a  roll  (Ezek.  3  ;  1-3),  we  see 
in  his  description  a  symbolic  action,  which  is  to  be  inter- 
preted as  figurative. 

And  if  reply  is  made  that  these  illustrations  are  found 
in  prophetic  discourse,  we  need  only  remind  ourselves  of 
the  words  of  the  Master,  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man  and  drink  his 
blood,  ye  have  not  life  in  yourselves"  (John  6  :  53). 
The  most  ardent  literalist  would  not  insist  that  Jesus  in 
these  words  requires  men  to  become  cannibals  in  order  to 
have  life.  Yet  that  is  to  take  the  Bible  as  it  reads.  So, 
also,  the  words  spoken  to  Jesus  in  the  transfiguration  sug- 
gest a  warning  against  pressing  the  doctrine  of  verbal  in- 
spiration. In  Matthew's  version  of  the  voice  out  of  the 
cloud  the  wording  is,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son  in  whom 
I  am  well  pleased"  (Matt.  17  :  5).  Mark  and  Luke 
omit  the  last  clause  (Mark  9  :  7  and  Luke  9  :  35),  while 
Luke  reads,  ''  My  Son,  my  chosen."  Broadus,  in  his 
comment  on  Matthew's  statement  of  the  voice,  disposes 
of  literalism  by  saying :  -  "Of  course  the  words  cannot 
have  been  spoken  in  all  these  forms;  an  unquestionable 
proof,  if  it  were  needed,  that  the  Evangelists  do  not  al- 
ways undertake  to  give  the  exact  words." 

If,  now,  further  evidence  is  needed  of  the  impossibility 
of  the  doctrine  of  literalism,  it  may  be  found  in  variant 
translations  of  passages  appearing  in  the  margins  of  an 
average  reference  Bible.  In  1  Samuel  19  :  9  the  text 
reads,  "  And  an  evil  spirit  from  Jehovah  was  upon  Saul." 

2  "  American  Commentary  on  Matthew,"  p.  372. 

I  ) 


120  Makers  of  the  Bible 

But  a  marginal  variant  rendering  of  this  verse  gives, 
"The  spirit  of  Jehovah  was  evil  toward  Saul."  This 
marginal  translation  is  far  from  being  identical  with  that 
of  the  text,  yet  the  words  of  the  Hebrew  will  bear  this 
rendering.  Malachi  2  :  15  offers  a  far  more  difficult 
verse,  in  fact  one  well-nigh  hopelessly  obscure.  In  the 
body  of  the  passage  we  read :  ''  And  did  he  not  make  one, 
although  he  had  the  residue  of  the  Spirit?  And  where- 
fore one?  He  sought  a  godly  seed."  The  marginal  ver- 
sion of  the  verse  runs :  "  And  not  one  hath  done  so  who 
had  a  residue  of  the  spirit.  Or  what?  is  there  one  that 
seeketh  a  godly  seed  ?  "  These  translations  of  the  Hebrew 
are  certainly  different,  yet  we  are  told  by  Hebrew  scholars 
that  the  rendering  in  the  text  is  a  possible  translation, 
though  that  of  the  margin  is  better."  And  the  same  phe- 
nomena are  found  in  the  New  Testament.  "  Depart  from 
me,  ye  cursed,"  or  "  Depart  from  me  under  a  curse  "  says 
Jesus  in  Matthew  25  :  41.  In  John  1  :  9  the  statement 
is,  "  There  was  the  true  light,  even  the  light  which  lighteth 
every  man,  coming  into  the  world."  But  the  margin 
makes  the  true  light  light  "  every  man  as  he  cometh  "  into 
the  world.  And  again,  in  James  4  :  5  there  is  a  passage 
to  which  two  variant  translations  are  attached.  Which 
of  these  three  does  this  verse  mean?  (1)  "Doth  the 
spirit  which  he  made  to  dwell  in  us  long  unto  envying?  " 
(2)  "  The  Spirit  which  he  made  to  dwell  in  us  he  yearneth 
for  even  unto  jealous  envy."  (3)  "  That  Spirit  which  he 
made  to  dwell  in  us  yearneth  for  us  even  unto  jealous 
envy." 

But  some  feel  that  this  appeal  to  marginal  variant  ren- 
derings is  not  well  taken.  They  declare  that  we  must  go 
back  of  all  translations  to  the  original. 

'  J.  M.  p.  Smith,  "  International  Critical  Commentary  on  Malachi,"  p.  54. 


Understanding  the  Bible  121 

There  are  convincing  reasons  for  believing  that  the  original 
manuscripts  of  the  Bible  contained  no  error.  We  cannot  conceive 
of  error  if  God  inspired  the  writers  to  give  these  truths  to  men.* 

The  term  original  manuscripts  is  not  wholly  free  from 
ambiguity  in  the  above  quotation.  If  by  it  is  meant  the 
actual  autographs  as  they  left  the  hands  of  the  Biblical 
writers,  then  nothing  can  be  affirmed  of  them  with  assur- 
ance, since  so  far  as  known  today  none  of  the  autographs 
of  Biblical  writings  are  in  existence.  And  if  by  the  term 
is  meant  simply  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  manuscripts  of 
the  Bible,  then,  as  copies,  they  do  contain  variant  read- 
ings that  make  it  impossible  to  hold  a  strict  doctrine  of 
verbal  inspiration.  Consider  2  Kings  8  :  10.  As  it  reads 
in  the  text  it  makes  the  man  of  God  a  liar.  For  Elisha 
sent  word  to  the  Syrian  king  by  Hazael :  "  Go  say  unto 
him,  Thou  shalt  surely  recover;  howbeit  Jehovah  hath 
showed  me  that  he  shall  surely  die."  A  marginal  variant 
reading  relieves  the  passage  of  its  verbal  contradiction 
and  moral  difficulty ;  moreover,  it  makes  the  account  con- 
sistent :  "  Thou  shalt  not  recover ;  for  Jehovah  hath 
showed  me  that  he  shall  surely  die."  A  similar  variation 
in  reading  occurs  in  the  New  Testament  in  John  7:8: 
**  Go  ye  up  unto  the  feast ;  I  go  not  up  unto  this  feast ; 
because  my  time  is  not  yet  fulfilled."  And  then  when  his 
brethren  had  gone  up  Jesus  went  up  secretly.  (John  7  : 
10.)  These  two  verses  taken  literally,  cause  real  dif- 
ficulty to  most  readers  and  were  the  occasion  of  ques- 
tionings very  early  in  the  history  of  the  church.  For 
"  many  ancient  authorities  add  *  yet '  "  immediately  after 
"  I  go  not  up  "  in  verse  8,  if  we  may  trust  a  marginal 
note  at  this  point.  Finally,  to  take  another  instance  from 
the  New  Testament,  the  text  of  the  passage  in  Matthew 

*  McPherson,  "  Modern  Conflict,"  p.  8f. 


122  Makers  of  the  Bible 

16  :  2f.  contains  words  which  to  the  end  of  verse  3,  we 
are  told  by  a  marginal  note  again,  "  are  omitted  by  some 
of  the  most  ancient  and  other  important  authorities." 
Jesus'  answer  to  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  is  found  in 
verse  4,  as  was  noticed  by  Origen  in  the  third  century 
A.  D.  in  his  commentary  on  Matthew,  while  the  last  part 
of  verse  2,  with  all  of  verse  3,  probably  formed  no  part 
of  the  original  text.  Indeed,  in  spite  of  the  retention  of 
these  portions  by  the  Revised  Version,  Broadus  felt  that 
they  were  certainly  not  a  part  of  the  first  Gospel  in  its 
original  form.^ 

Such  passages  are  numerous  in  the  Bible  and  suggest 
the  fundamental  difficulty  inherent  in  the  doctrine  of  liter- 
alism, whether  it  be  based  on  the  versions  merely  or  the 
manuscripts  themselves.  And  this  evidence  finds  support 
in  the  Bible's  incidental  reflection  of  the  attitude  of  Biblical 
writers  and  persons  on  this  unscriptural  way  of  treating 
the  Scriptures.  The  prophet  Zechariah  appeals  to  the 
authority  of  those  spokesmen  of  God  who  lived  and 
preached  before  the  Exile  (Zech.  1  :  4;  7  :  7,  12),  but 
he  is  more  concerned  with  the  spirit  of  their  utterances 
than  with  the  phraseology.  He  gives  the  refrain  of  the 
earlier  prophets  and  a  summary  of  their  teaching,  but 
it  is  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  his  own  age;  it  is  not 
couched  in  the  words  and  phrases  of  the  older  prophets.** 
In  similar  fashion  the  writer  of  Daniel  is  trying  to  under- 
stand Jeremiah's  ancient  prophecy  of  Jerusalem's  seventy- 
year  desolation,  but  he  interprets  the  older  seer's  message 
and  transforms  it  into  the  famous  Seventy  Weeks  oracle. 
(Dan.  9  :  2,  24-27.)  Jesus,  too,  was  no  literalist  in  his 
treatment  of  Scripture.    We  are  told  that  "  the  Old  Tes- 

^  Broadus,  "  American  Commentary  on  Matthew,"  p.  348. 

•  G.  A.  Smith,  "  Book  of  the  Twelve,"  Vol  II,  p.  26of.,  note  3. 


Understanding  the  Bible  123 

tament,  as  we  have  it  today,  was  the  text-book  of  Jesus, 
and  that  in  the  temptations  of  Hfe  he  did  not  have  re- 
course to  his  own  supernatural  resources,"  but  "  won  his 
first  great  victory  by  simply  declaring  in  a  childlike  trust : 
*  It  is  written.' "  ^  If  this  be  true,  we  should  expect  the 
Master  to  reproduce  the  words  of  the  Old  Testament  in 
the  form  we  know  them,  when  he  quotes  portions  of 
Scripture.  But  this  is  not  the  case.  Reciting  the  com- 
mandments, in  answer  to  the  young  man  he  loved,  he 
inserts  one  not  in  the  lists  as  they  now  appear  in  the  Old 
Testament.  Five  of  the  six  he  gives  are  from  the  ancient 
law,  but  "  Do  not  defraud  "  (Mark  10  :  19)  is  not  there. 
And  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Matt.  5  to  7)  the  oft- 
repeated  formula  introducing  a  new  topic  suggests  how 
Jesus  was  contrasting  his  own  teaching  with  that  of 
both  Moses  and  other  teachers  in  their  interpretations.^ 
Moreover,  his  quotation  of  the  Wisdom  of  God  (by  some 
believed  to  be  a  non-canonical  source  now  lost)  against 
the  "  lawyers  "  suggests  his  readiness  to  go  outside  the 
letter  of  the  Old  Testament  as  we  now  have  it.  (Luke 
11  :  49.)  Does  not  this  show  that  Jesus  was  concerned 
with  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  Old  Testament  rather 
than  with  just  its  letter?  And  not  only  so,  he  actually 
points  out  the  transitory  character  of  the  Jewish  Scrip- 
tures, and  suggests  that  they  were  superseded  by  the  gos- 
pel of  the  kingdom.  "  The  law  and  the  prophets  were 
until  John:  from  that  time  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  preached  "  (Luke  16  :  16).  This  vital  concep- 
tion of  Scripture  comes  to  its  classic  expression  in  the 
great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  "  The  letter  killeth  but  the 
spirit  giveth  life  "  (2  Cor.  3:6).    And  Paul  applies  this 

'  McPherson,  "  Modern  Conflict,"  p.  12, 

*  Cf .  Broadus,  "American  Commentary  on  Matthew,"  p.  102. 


124  Makers  of  the  Bible 

principle  in  his  own  practise.  Quoting  in  Romans  3  : 
10-18  somewhat  at  length  he  first  abridges  a  part  of 
Psalm  14,  then  adds  to  that  abridgment  a  number  of 
verses  (13-18)  as  if  they  had  originally  formed  a  con- 
tinuous passage  in  the  Old  Testament.  But  these  verses 
are  taken  from  different  parts  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures, 
not  always  exactly  quoted  and  strung  together  to  form  a 
single  passage.  Again,  he  introduces  a  quotation  with  the 
expression  '*  As  said  God,"  yet  the  quotation  is  a  para- 
phrase of  a  number  of  Old  Testament  passages,  more 
nearly  like  the  Greek  of  the  Septuagint  than  the  Hebrew, 
and  the  first  words  of  the  quotation,  "  I  will  dwell  in 
them,"  are  not  in  any  of  the  passages  represented  in  the 
paraphrase.  (Cf.  2  Cor.  6  :  16f.)  Surely  Paul  wanted 
the  spirit  of  the  Old  Testament  teaching,  not  its  letter. 
Moreover,  Paul  quotes  from  rabbinic  tradition  as  of 
equal  authority  with  the  Old  Testament,  in  Galatians  3  : 
19,  when  he  says  that  the  law  "  was  ordained  by  the  hand 
of  a  mediator."  ® 

In  general  this  is  the  attitude  of  the  church  toward 
Scripture  down  through  the  early  and  Middle  Ages  of 
its  history.  The  same  is  true  of  the  modern  period  till 
the  time  of  the  King  James  Bible  in  1611.  The  trans- 
lators of  this  splendid  version  recognized  the  presence  of 
obscurities  in  the  Biblical  text  and  were  liberal-minded 
enough  to  put  marginal  notes  in  their  translation  explain- 
ing and  clearing  up  many  doubtful  points.  Never  for  a 
moment  did  they  hold  the  doctrine  of  literalism,  claiming 
the  verbal  inspiration  of  the  Bible. 

It  hath  pleased  God  [they  say  in  their  noble  prefacel  in  his 
divine  prouidence,  heere  and  there  to  scatter  wordes  and  sentences 
of  that  difficultie  and  doubt fulnesse,  not  in  doctrinall  points  that 

''  Cf.  Robinson,  "  Life  of  Paul,"  p.  34f. 


Understanding  the  Bible  125 

concerne  saluation,  .  .  but  in  matters  of  less  moment,  that  feare- 
fulnesse  would  better  beseeme  vs  than  confidence.^*' 

In  fact,  one  of  the  prominent  features  of  this  so-called 
Authorized  Version  is  its  variety  of  expression,  and  this 
is  due  to  the  translators'  repudiation  of  literalism  and 
their  refusal  to  be  bound  by  the  letter.  They  claimed  the 
right  to  render  a  Hebrew  or  Greek  word  once  by  "  intent  '* 
and  another  time  by  "  purpose " ;  an  original  word  by 
"  journeying  "  and  again  by  "  traveling  " ;  or,  once  by 
"  pain  "  and  again  by  "  ache  " ;  and  so  on  through  a  long 
list.  In  fact,  ''  to  minse  the  matter,"  as  they  so  quaintly 
phrase  it,  they  thought  literalism  ^^ 

to  sauor  more  of  curiositie  then  wisdome,  and  that  rather  it 
would  breed  scorne  in  the  Atheist,  then  bring  profite  to  the  godly 
Reader.  For  is  the  kingdome  of  God  become  words  or  syllables? 
why  should  wee  be  in  bondage  to  them  if  we  may  be  free,  vse  one 
precisely  when  wee  may  vse  another  no  lesse  fit,  as  commodiously  ? 

^'  Cambridge  English  Classics,  Reprint  of  the  Authorized  Version  of  the 
English  Bible,  i6ir.  The  Translators  to  the  Reader,  p.  28. 

"  Translators  to  Reader,  p,  28, 


XI 


THE  UNDERLYING  CHARACTER  OF  THE 

BIBLE 

Study  Outline:  Questions  for  Reflection 

1.  What  evidences  of  the  Bible's  power  can  you  sug- 
gest? 

2.  What  effect  on  individual  lives  has  the  Bible  pro- 
duced ? 

3.  What  influence  on  human  society  has  the  Bible  had? 

4.  To  what  element  in  the  Bible  is  this  influence  due? 

5.  Wherein  does  the  authority  of  the  Bible  lie,  in  its 
statements  or  in  its  principles? 

6.  What  to  you  is  the  real  purpose  of  the  Bible? 

7.  What  should  be  our  purpose  in  studying  the  Bible  ? 

References  and  Helps 

Psalm  25  :  4;  119  :  9,  105;  Luke  15  :  11-32;  John 
14  :  6;  Romans  8  :  38,  39;  2  Timothy  3  :  17;  Hebrews 
1  :  1,  2. 

Hastings'  Diet.  Bib.,  1  vol,  ed.,  art.  ''  Bible,"  p.  95,  §1. 

Hughes,  "  The  Bible  and  Life,"  pp.  21-48  and  213-239. 

Clarke,  "  Sixty  Years  With  the  Bible,"  pp.  244-259. 

Dods,  "  The  Bible,  Its  Origin  and  Nature,"  pp.  101-163. 

Von  Dobschuetz,  "  The  Influence  of  the  Bible  on  Civil- 
ization," pp.  164-190. 

Conley,  "  The  Bible  in  Modern  Light,"  pp.  25-39. 

Thus  far  we  have  been  concerned  necessarily  with  the 
126 


The  Underlying  Character  of  the  Bible         127 

human  side  of  our  Bible,  reflected  so  clearly  by  the  writer 
of  Hebrews.  (Heb.  1  :  1,  2.)  Such  a  subject  has  its  place, 
since  no  study  of  the  records  which  preserve  the  Scrip- 
tures for  us  is  without  value.  But  the  author  would 
be  untrue  to  his  conviction  about  the  essential  nature 
of  the  Book,  were  he  to  stop  here  without  at  least  a 
glance  at  its  divine  character. 

The  fact  of  the  Bible's  power  over  men  is  beyond 
dispute.  It  is  a  small  volume,  yet  has  been  the  inspira- 
tion of  almost  countless  books,  sermons,  and  tracts.  It 
is  an  ancient  volume,  yet  is  still  enthroned  in  the  heart  of 
our  modern  life.  Oriental  in  origin  and  atmosphere  for 
the  most  part,  it  has  followed  the  course  of  empire  and 
won  its  greatest  triumphs  in  the  Occident.  Produced 
centuries  ago  in  a  small  and  remote  country,  it  has  defied 
geographical  distance  and  temporal  limitation.  Shaped 
and  colored  by  the  land  of  its  birth,  it  is  none  the  less 
adapted  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  human  life.  While 
the  sacred  books  of  other  religions  remain  bound  by  the 
limited  habitat  of  their  origin,  the  Bible  has  transcended 
all  the  limits  of  land  and  clime  in  the  reach  of  its  influence. 
While  other  scriptures  refuse  to  thrive  on  translation,  the 
Christian  Scriptures  flourish  afresh  in  new  forms.  "  From 
Greenland's  icy  mountains  to  India's  coral  strand,  the 
Bible  seems  as  it  were  indigenous  to  all  zones,  climates, 
and  conditions."  ^ 

Moreover,  all  down  through  its  history  this  book  of 
divine  religion  has  produced  a  religious  eflPect  in  the  lives 
of  its  individual  readers.  For  nineteen  centuries  it  has 
been  the  interpreter  and  guide  of  men,  teaching  the  truth 
of  such  fundamental  realities  as  these :  the  verity  of  the 
being  of  God,  the  constitution  and  destiny  of  man,  and 

^  Baldwin,  "  Modern  Miracles,"  p.  240. 


128  Makers  of  the  Bible 


the  nature  of  the  relation  existing  between  the  human 
and  divine.  It  has  taught  the  world  that  reHgion  is  God 
at  work  in  man  seeking  to  Hft  him  to  share  in  the  divine 
life.  It  has  taught  that  religion  is  more  than  worship 
alone,  though  this  represents  inward  devotion ;  more  than 
conduct  alone,  although  conduct  is  a  most  important  ele- 
ment; more  than  creed  alone,  though  creed  is  almost  a 
necessary  expression  of  it.  The  Bible  has  been  and  is 
today  a  moral  pathfinder,  answering  the  deepest  cry  of 
the  human  heart, 

"  Show  me  thy  ways,  O  Jehovah ; 
Teach  me  thy  paths ''  (Ps.  25  :  4). 

But  more  significant  than  this,  the  Bible  has  exercised 
a  molding  influence  on  human  civilization.  To  note  in 
passing  only  one  illustration,  the  Anglo-Saxon-speaking 
people  owe  much  of  their  progress  to  the  silent  power  of 
the  Book.  On  the  occasion  of  the  three-hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  King  James  Version  Whitelaw  Reid,  then 
our  ambassador  to  Great  Britain,  is  reported  by  the  news- 
papers to  have  given  expression  to  this  eloquent  tribute 
to  the  Bible :  "  For  the  past  three  centuries  the  Bible  has 
been  the  mainspring  of  Anglo-Saxon  development,  hav- 
ing molded  its  morals,  lifted  its  legislation  and  its  juris- 
prudence, and  inspired  its  literature."  And  von  Dob- 
schuetz,  in  his  Harvard  Lectures  in  1914,  feels  that  the 
influence  of  the  Bible  on  civilization  will  grow  greater 
in  the  future,  the  more  the  Bible  is  used  as  an  influence 
in  inward  inspiration  to  piety  of  life  :  ^ 

Making  men  devout,  it  makes  them  strong  and  Influential  in  the 
common  effort   to   promote   civilization  by   removing  everything 

'  "  The  Influence  of  the  Bible  on  Civilization,"  p.   190. 


The  Underlying  Character  of  the  Bible  129 

which  is  contrary  to  the  welfare  of  others.  That  is  the  most 
important  influence  which  the  Bible  can  have;  and  tliat  influence 
it  still  exerts  and  ever  will  exert  on  civilization. 

If,  now,  we  seek  a  reason  for  this  judgment  concerning 
the  power  and  influence  of  the  Christian  Scriptures,  may 
it  not  be  found  in  our  conception  of  the  fundamental 
nature  of  the  Bible?  Essentially,  it  is  a  book  of  inner 
spiritual  truth,  and  such  truth  is  not  attested  to  us  by 
external  demonstration.  This  truth  is  self-authenticating 
by  its  own  inherent  worth.  As  we  read  the  Bible  we 
select  that  which  meets  the  requirements  of  our  per- 
sonal life.  In  infinite  wisdom  God  has  made  it  so,  and 
we  but  follow  his  direction  when  we  appropriate  from 
the  mass  of  truth  in  the  Scriptures  that  which  satisfies 
our  own  individual  needs.  Having  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
within  us,  we  use  this  possession  as  a  means  of  getting 
from  the  Bible  that  truth  which  will  transform  the  life 
into  the  pattern  of  the  divine. 

This  is  because  the  Bible  is  not  dependent  upon  what 
Bishop  Hughes  calls  formal  truthfulness  for  its  power  of 
appeal.  It  has  its  forms  of  expression,  as  before  sug- 
gested, but  the  reality  of  its  inspiration  does  not  depend 
upon  these  forms.  As  Hughes  suggests,  we  may  read  a 
perfectly  correct  description  of  a  street  scene,  which  pic- 
tures to  our  mind  all  the  details  of  the  various  groups  in 
the  street  on  a  particular  occasion,  without  feeling  that 
the  description  is  inspired  or  inspiring.  On  the  contrary, 
men  respond  to  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son  (Luke 
15  :  11-32),  for  instance,  as  both  inspired  and  inspiring. 
For 

the  son  and  the  father  are  ever  with  us.     God  and  his  children 
are  the  everlasting  facts.     The  story  is  more  true  than  the  de- 


130  Makers  of  the  Bible 

scription.  This  contrast  represents  the  biblical  trend.  The  Book 
penetrates  through  the  husk  to  the  kernel,  through  superficial  facts 
to  deepest  truths,  through  passing  events  to  eternal  meanings.^ 

And  this  suggests  a  basis  for  one's  doctrine  of  the 
authority  of  the  Bible.  It  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  forms 
and  formulas  of  the  past,  good  and  helpful  though  these 
have  been.  It  must  be  found  in  the  accordance  of  Biblical 
truth  with  that  Spirit  of  Christ  in  the  heart  of  the  believer. 
God  spoke  to  men  in  the  olden  time  through  the  makers 
of  the  Bible,  and  Christ's  Spirit  is  resident  in  the  hearts 
of  men  to-day,  speaking  to  them  by  faith  in  his  person. 
Bring  these  two  together,  the  outer  and  inner,  the  ob- 
jective and  subjective,  and  we  have  a  basis  for  authority 
in  things  spiritual  that  is  permanent  and  satisfying.  It 
is  embodied  for  us  in  the  Christ  of  the  Gospels,  whose 
person  gives  us  the  divine  standard :  **  I  am  the  way, 
and  the  truth,  and  the  life  "  (John  14  :  6).  The  authority 
of  the  Bible  for  our  religious  life  is  the  authority  of 
Jesus  the  Christ  as  he  makes  himself  known  to  the  in- 
dividual soul.  He  is  in  us  the  touchstone  of  authority 
by  which  we  are  to  test  all  religious  teaching,  whether 
ancient  or  modern. 

What  shall  we  say,  now,  of  the  purpose  of  the  Book? 
Fundamentally,  what  is  the  Bible?  In  respect  of  its 
purpose  it  is  a  means  of  spiritual  nourishment  and  quick- 
ening. It  was  written  and  gathered  into  its  present  form, 
not  primarily  to  give  us  information  about  this  material 
universe,  but  for  the  purpose  of  helping  man  to  know 
God  and  become  Godlike  in  spirit.  "  Wherewithal  shall 
a  young  man  cleanse  his  way  ?  "  is  the  sort  of  questions 
it  asks,  answering  them  from  the  heights  of  inspiration, 
"by  taking  heed  thereto  according  to  thy  word"  (Ps. 

» "  The  Bible  and  Life,"  pp.  25,  26. 


The  Underlying  Character  of  the  Bible         131 

119  :  9).  Whatever  we  need  to  know  about  God  is  re- 
vealed to  us  in  the  Bible,  and  whatever  power  we  need 
to  strengthen  us  in  the  struggle  against  evil  and  lift  us  to 
an  indomitable  faith  in  the  Son  of  God  as  a  personal 
Saviour  comes  to  us  in  its  pages.  And  this  divine  purpose 
of  the  Bible  is  intimately  associated  with  its  inspiration, 
giving  to  it  its  supreme  dynamic.  In  this  it  differs  from 
other  sacred  writings.  It  is  not  necessary  to  deny  help- 
fulness to  the  sacred  books  of  other  religions  in  order  to 
enhance  Christianity's  Bible.  The  literature  of  Brahman- 
ism  has  led  men  to  thoughtful  contemplation;  the  teach- 
ings of  Confucius  have  served  men  as  a  basis  for  a  good 
code  of  morals ;  and  the  Koran  has  proved  itself  to  many 
an  inspiration  to  prayer  and  devotion.  But  the  distinction 
and  glory  bf  the  Christian  Bible  is  this,  that  having  all 
these  qualities  it  also  begets  in  human  beings  a  desire 
for  a  Godlike  character,  and  lends  to  them  in  their 
struggle  after  this  supreme  good  the  power  of  associa- 
tion, through  faith,  with  One  who  is  not  ashamed  to  call 
men  brothers.  And  the  Bible  not  only  brings  to  us  in  our 
own  personal  struggle  upward  the  power  of  the  Saviour's 
personality,  beholding  whom  in  its  pages  we  are  surely, 
if  slowly,  transformed  into  the  divine  likeness  by  what 
Drummond  somewhere  so  felicitously  calls  the  "  alchemy 
of  influence,"  but  it  also  prepares  us  by  the  same  trans- 
forming power  for  efficient  service  among  our  fellow 
men  by  furnishing  us  "  unto  every  good  work  "  (2  Tim. 
3  :  17). 

As  a  corollary  from  the  above  it  follows  that  we  must 
approach  the  Bible  in  the  right  attitude  of  mind  and  with 
the  right  purpose.  To  come  to  it  with  any  other  purpose 
than  to  ascertain  our  duty  before  God  and  man  is  to  turn 
the  Book  from  its  true  intent.    Of  course,  since  we  do 


132  Makers  of  the  Bible 

not  yet  fully  know  its  truth,  scholarship  must  continue 
its  task  of  investigating  what  may  seem  at  times  the 
superficial  and  incidental  in  Bible  study,  in  order  to  re- 
cover for  us  the  volume  in  its  fulness.  And  we  must 
not  censure  the  honest  critic  by  calling  harsh  names,  for 
the  devout  scholar  does  not  stop  with  this  critical  ap- 
proach to  the  Bible.  It  is  not  for  him  an  end  in  itself, 
only  a  means  to  the  end.  He  goes  on  to  search  the  Bible 
for  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God  for  men  today.  Ap- 
proaching the  Scriptures  in  this  mood,  with  a  spiritual 
passion  and  genuine  willingness  to  do  the  divine  will 
as  revealed  in  the  Book,  he  finds  clear  light  on  life's  way 
and  power  for  the  doing  of  duty  revealed.  So  it  is  with 
all  who  come  to  the  Bible  in  this  spirit  and  with  this 
purpose.  For  the  Book  as  a  divine  revelation  of  vital 
truth  culminates  in  a  Life  that  gives  us  our  best  vision 
of  life,  in  a  Teacher  whose  words  give  us  the  best  philoso- 
phy of  life,  in  a  Friend  whose  Spirit  is  our  best  dynamic 
of  life,  in  a  Saviour  whose  victory  over  sin  and  death 
assures  us  of  our  ultimate  triumph  in  life. 

And  this  brings  us  to  the  crowning  glory  of  our  Bible, 
its  capacity  for  translation  into  the  language  of  each 
individual  heart.  We  claim  the  right  to  interpret  the 
Scriptures  for  ourselves.  This  means  that  our  Scripture, 
authoritative  for  our  life,  is  not  the  Bible  as  others  read 
it,  but  as  read  through  the  medium  of  our  own  personality. 
Respect  for  the  interpretations  of  others  is,  of  course, 
essential  to  the  ascertainment  of  the  truth  of  Scripture, 
since  these  interpretations  constitute  one  means  by  which 
the  Almighty  brings  instruction  in  Biblical  truth  to  us. 
But  he  who  is  dependent  for  his  Scripture  upon  what 
he  hears  of  the  Bible  from  others  is  in  danger  of  lacking 
depth  and  stability  in  his  spiritual  life.    And  this  is  no 


The  Underlying  Character  of  the  Bible         133 

plea  for  mere  eccentricity  in  one's  use  and  interpretation 
of  the  Bible.  It  is  rather  a  suggestion  that  each  bring  his 
own  mind  and  heart  under  the  tutelage  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  to  be  filled  with  the  truth  according  to  individual 
capacity. 

For  this  is  just  the  ministry  of  the  Spirit  of  truth,  to 
take  of  the  wonderful  things  of  the  Book  and  make  them 
ours.  And  when  we  in  this  fashion  have  each  our  own 
Bible,  the  revelation  of  the  divine  will  in  human  records 
of  the  past  interpreted  by  the  revelation  of  the  Christ 
in  our  own  heart  and  conscience,  we  may,  adapting  Paul's 
words  to  this  statement,  feel  sure  that  '*  neither  death, 
nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  things  present, 
nor  things  to  come,  nor  powers,  nor  height,  nor  depth, 
nor  any  other  creature  "  (Rom.  8  :  38,  39)  will  be  able 
to  rob  us  of  our  pathfinder,  guide,  and  stay  along  the  way 
from  earth  to  heaven.  "  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my 
feet,  and  light  unto  my  path"  (Ps.  119  :  105). 

Lamp  of  our  feet  whereby  we  trace 

Our  paths  when  wont  to  stray, 
Stream  from  the  fount  of  heavenly  grace, 

Brook  by  the  traveler's  way, 


Word  of  the  ever-living  God, 

Will  of  his  glorious  Son, 
Without  thee  how  could  earth  be  trod. 

Or  heaven  itself  be  won?* 


*  Bernard  Barton,  1827. 


APPENDIX 


Excerpts  from  Writings  Which  Throw  Light  Upon 
Some  Matters  Presented  in  the  Preceding  Chapters 


THE  LETTER  OF  PSEUDO-ARISTEAS 

The  Story  of  the  Septuagint 

This  letter  purports  to  be  a  contemporary  record  by 
Aristeas,  who  represents  himself  as  an  officer  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  king  of  Egypt  (Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  B.  C. 
285-247).  Aristeas  is  interested  in  the  antiquities  of  the 
Jews  and  writes  to  his  brother,  Philocrates,  an  account  of 
a  journey  to  Jerusalem  he  had  recently  made  in  the  in- 
terest of  a  Greek  version  of  the  Jewish  law  for  the  royal 
library  at  Alexandria.  He  was  a  member  of  the  deputa- 
tion despatclied  by  the  king  to  the  Jews  with  a  letter  to 
the  High  Priest  Eleazar,  asking  him  to  send  to  Alexandria 
six  learned  elders  from  each  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel 
to  do  the  work  of  translation. 

The  seventy-two  elders  were  chosen  in  due  time  and 
sent  to  Alexandria,  carrying  with  them  a  copy  of  their 
Law  written  in  gold  ink  on  rolls  made  of  skins.  The 
king  received  the  elders  at  a  banquet,  where  he  tested  their 
ability  with  hard  questions.  Then  after  a  few  days  De- 
metrius, the  librarian  of  the  royal  library,  conducted  the 
elders  to  a  place  by  the  seashore  remote  from  the  noise 
and  tumult  of  the  city,  and  urged  them  to  perform  their 
task  of  translating  their  Law  into  Greek.  They  did  it  in 
the  space  of  seventy-two  days,  and  the  translation  was 
enthusiastically  received  by  the  Jewish  community  of 
Alexandria,  approved  by  the  king  with  delight  and  rever- 
ence, and  ordered  put  away  for  safe-keeping. 

Such  in  barest  outline  is  the  story  which  has  given  us 
the  name  Septuagint  for  the  Alexandrian  version  of  the 

137 


138  Makers  of  the  Bible 

Jewish  Scriptures.  The  following  excerpts  from  the  let- 
ter will  supply  more  details  of  the  story,  which  is  not  now 
accepted  by  scholars  as  authentic.  The  story  cannot  be 
taken  as  a  contemporary  record  by  a  non-Palestinian 
writer.  Once  he  speaks  of  the  way  in  which  "  the  affairs 
of  state  used  to  be  carried  out  by  these  Egyptian  kings  " 
(|[.28),  and  again,  after  referring  to  the  arrangement  for 
the  entertainment  of  the  guests  at  Philadelphus'  court, 
adds,  "  it  is  an  arrangement  which  is  still  maintained  to- 
day "  (^182).  There  are  numerous  other  indications  in 
the  letter  of  a  later  date,  and  the  writer  is  too  familiar 
with  Jewish  life  and  customs  to  have  been  an  Alexandrian 
Greek  ofHcial.  But  the  story  is  interesting  and  of  some 
value,  representing,  as  it  does,  the  Jews  as  having  heard 
and  welcomed  the  Greek  version  of  the  Law  before  it  was 
presented  to  the  king.  This  suggests  that  the  version  was 
made  because  the  Alexandrian  Jews  needed  it  for  their 
religious  life. 
Read  the  Aristeas  story  in  the  following  excerpts :  ^ 

As  the  story  of  our  deputation  to  Eleazar,  the  high  priest  of 
the  Jews,  is  worth  the  telling,  and  because  thou,  Philocrates,  hast 
set  thy  heart,  as  thou  art  constantly  reminding  me,  on  learning 
the  motives  and  purpose  of  our  mission,  I  have  endeavoured  to 
give  thee  a  clear  account  of  the  matter.  .  .  It  was  my  devotion  to 
the  careful  study  of  religion  which  led  me  to  offer  my  services  for 
the  embassy  to  the  man  I  have  mentioned,  who,  owing  to  his  virtu- 
ous character  and  exalted  position,  is  held  in  high  honour  both  by 
his  countrymen  and  by  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  is  in  possession 
of  documents  of  the  greatest  service  to  his  nation,  whether  at  home 
or  abroad,  for  the  translation  of  the  divine  law,  because  it  exists 
in  their  country  written  on  parchment  in  Hebrew  characters.  This 
embassy  then  I  undertook  with  enthusiasm,  after  finding  an  oppor- 
tunity of  approaching  the  king  on  the  subject  of  the  men  who 

*  Thackerary's  Translation,  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Christian 
Knowledge,  London,    191 8. 


Appendix  139 

were  removed  to  Egypt  from  Judaea  by  the  king's  father,  when 
first  he  took  over  the  city  and  the  government  of  Egypt.  This 
story  also  it  is  worth  While  my  telling  thee.  .  .  But,  not  to  weary 
you  with  too  long  an  introduction,  I  will  resume  the  thread  of 
the  narrative. 

Demetrius  of  Phalerum,  as  keeper  of  the  king's  library,  received 
large  grants  of  public  money  with  a  view  to  his  collecting,  if 
possible,  all  the  books  in  the  world:  and  by  purchases  and  tran- 
scriptions he  to  the  best  of  his  ability  carried  the  king's  purpose 
into  execution.  Being  asked  once  in  my  presence,  about  how 
many  thousands  of  books  were  already  collected,  he  replied,  "  More 
than  two  hundred  thousand,  O  king;  and  I  will  ere  long  make 
diligent  search  for  the  remainder,  so  that  a  total  of  half  a  million 
may  be  reached.  I  am  informed  that  the  Jews  also  have  cer- 
tain laws  which  are  deserving  of  transcription  and  a  place  in  thy 
library."  "  What  is  to  hinder  thee,  then,"  replied  the  king,  "  in 
this  task?  For  all  the  necessary  means  are  at  thy  service."  And 
Demetrius  answered,  "  Translation  is  also  required.  For  in  the 
Jews'  land  they  use  a  peculiar  script  (just  as  Egyptians  have  their 
system  of  letters)  and  speak  a  peculiar  language.  It  is  commonly 
thought  that  they  use  the  Syrian  language,  but  this  is  an  error; 
it  is  another  dialect."  And  when  the  king  learnt  all  the  facts, 
he  gave  command  that  a  letter  should  be  written  to  the  high  priest 
of  the  Jews,  in  order  that  the  proposal  above  mentioned  might  be 
carried  into  effect.  .  . 

And  when  this  business  was  ended  (the  emancipation  of  Jewish 
slaves)  he  ordered  Demetrius  to  submit  a  statement  concerning  the 
transcription  of  the  Jewish  books.  .  .  And  the  following  is  a  copy 
of  the  memorial :  "  To  the  great  king  from  Demetrius— In  obedi- 
ence to  thy  order,  O  king,  that  the  books  which  are  wanting  to 
complete  the  library  should  be  added  to  the  collection,  and  that 
those  which  are  defective  should  be  duly  repaired,  I  have  ex- 
pended great  care  upon  these  matters  and  now  submit  a  reference 
to  thee.  The  books  of  the  Jewish  law  with  some  few  others  are 
wanting.  They  are  written  in  Hebrew  letters  and  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue,  and  have  been  interpreted  somewhat  carelessly  and  do  not 
represent  the  original  text,  according  to  information  supplied  by 
the  experts,  because  they  have  never  received  a  king's  fostering 
care.    It  is  necessary  that  these  books  too  should  in  an  amended 


140  Makers  of  the  Bible 

form  find  a  place  in  thy  library,  because  this  code  of  laws,  in  that 
it  is  divine,  is  full  of  wisdom  and  faultless.  .  .  If  then  it  be  thy 
good  pleasure,  O  king,  a  letter  shall  be  written  to  the  high  priest 
at  Jerusalem,  bidding  him  send  six  elders  from  each  tribe,  men  of 
the  highest  repute  and  versed  in  their  country's  law,  in  order  that 
we  may  test  wherein  the  more  part  agree,  and  so  obtaining  an 
accurate  translation  may  deposit  it  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  the  undertaking  and  of  thy  gracious  will.  Fare 
ever  well  1  "  When  this  memorial  had  been  presented,  the  king 
ordered  that  a  letter  should  be  written  to  Eleazar  on  these  matters 
informing  him  also  of  the  emancipation  of  the  captives,  .  . 

The  tenour  of  the  king's  letter  was  as  follows :  "  King  Ptole- 
maeus  to  Eleazar  the  high  priest  greeting  and  health.  Forasmuch 
as  there  are  many  Jews  settled  in  our  realm  who  were  forcibly 
removed  from  Jerusalem  by  the  Persians  at  the  time  of  their 
power,  and  others  who  entered  Egypt  as  captives  in  the  train  of 
our  father  .  .  .  we,  then,  have  given  liberty  to  more  than  a  hun- 
dred thousand  captives,  .  .  Now  since  we  desire  to  confer  a  favour 
not  on  these  only,  but  on  all  Jews  throughout  the  world  and 
on  future  generations,  it  is  our  will  that  your  Law  be  translated 
from  the  Hebrew  tongue  in  use  among  you  into  Greek,  that  so 
these  writings  also  may  find  a  place  in  our  library  with  the  other 
royal  volumes.  .  ," 

To  this  letter  Eleazar  replied  appropriately  as  follows :  "  Eleazar 
the  High  Priest  to  King  Ptolemaeus,  his  sincere  friend,  greet- 
ing. .  .  On  receiving  thy  letter  we  greatly  rejoiced  because  of  thy 
purpose  and  noble  resolve,  and  we  collected  the  whole  people  and 
read  it  to  them.  ,  .  We  shewed  them  also  the  vials  which  thou 
sentest,  .  .  the  five  bowls,  and  the  table  as  dedicatory  offerings, 
and  the  hundred  talents  of  silver  for  the  offerings  of  sacrifices 
and  for  such  repairs  as  the  temple  may  require.  These  gifts 
were  brought  by  Andreas,  one  of  thy  honoured  courtiers,  and 
Aristeas,  .  .  We  therefore  straightway  offered  sacrifices  on  thy 
behalf  and  on  behalf  of  thy  sister  and  thy  children  and  thy  friends, 
and  the  whole  people  prayed  that  thy  undertakings  might  ever 
prosper,  .  .  And  in  the  presence  of  them  all  we  selected  six  elders 
from  each  tribe,  good  men  and  true,  whom  we  are  also  sending 
with  a  copy  of  the  Law." 

I  have  now  given  thee,  dear  brother  Philocrates,  such  a  sum- 


Appendix  141 

mary  description  of  these  matters  as  was  necessary.     The  story 
of  the  translation  we  will  tell  in  the  sequel.  .  . 

So  Eleazar,  when  he- had  offered  sacrifice  and  selected  the  men 
and  made  ready  many  gifts  for  the  king,  sent  us  on  our  way  in 
great  security.  And  when  we  reached  Alexandria,  the  king  was 
informed  of  our  arrival.  On  our  admission  to  the  court,  Andreas 
and  I  gave  friendly  greetings  to  the  king  and  delivered  the  letter 
from  Eleazar.  The  king  was  so  anxious  to  meet  the  delegates  that 
he  gave  orders  to  dismiss  all  the  other  officials  and  to  summon 
the  men.  .  .  When  they  entered  with  the  gifts  which  had  been  sent 
and  the  precious  parchments  whereon  was  inscribed  the  law  in 
gold  in  the  Jewish  characters,  the  material  being  wonderfully  pre- 
pared, and  the  joining  of  the  several  leaves  being  rendered  imper- 
ceptible, the  king  when  he  saw  the  men,  began  to  ask  concerning 
the  books.  And  when  they  had  taken  the  rolls  out  of  their  cover- 
ings and  unrolled  the  leaves,  the  king,  after  pausing  for  a  long 
while  and  making  obeisance  some  seven  times,  said,  "  I  thank  you, 
friends,  and  him  that  sent  you  still  more,  but  most  of  all  do  I 
thank  God,  Whose  oracles  these  are.  .  .'*  And  when  they  had  ex- 
pressed their  gratitude,  he  ordered  that  the  best  quarters  near  the 
citadel  should  be  assigned  to  them,  and  the  banquet  made  ready. 

(Then  after  a  long  description  of  the  seven  days'  ban- 
quet the  writer  continues  his  story  of  the  work  of  trans- 
lation : ) 

Now  after  three  days  Demetrius  took  the  men  with  him  and 
passing  over  the  breakwater,  seven  furlongs  in  length,  to  the  island 
crossed  the  bridge  and  proceeded  to  the  northern  district.  There 
he  held  a  session  in  a  house  which  had  been  prepared  by  the  sea- 
shore, magnificently  built  in  a  secluded  situation,  and  bade  them 
carry  out  their  work  of  translation,  since  all  the  necessary  ap- 
pliances had  been  well  provided.  And  so  they  proceeded  to  carry 
it  out,  arriving  at  an  agreement  on  each  point  by  comparing  each 
other's  work ;  the  appropriate  rendering  so  agreed  on  was  then 
transcribed  under  the  direction  of  Demetrius.  The  session  used  to 
last  until  the  ninth  hour,  and  thereafter  they  would  depart  to  at- 
tend to  their  bodily  comforts,  all  their  wants  being  plentifully  sup- 
plied. .  .  Thus,  as  we  have  said  already,  they  assembled  every  day 


142  Makers  of  the  Bible 

in  this  spot,  .  .  And  so  it  came  about  that  the  translation  was 
accomplished  in  seventy-two  days,  as  though  this  coincidence  had 
been  intended. 

And  when  the  work  was  ended,  Demetrius  assembled  the  Jew- 
ish people  on  the  spot  where  the  translation  had  been  made  and 
read  it  through  to  the  whole  assembly  in  the  presence  of  the 
translators,  who  received  another  great  ovation  from  the  people 
in  recognition  of  the  great  services  which  they  had  rendered.  .  . 

When  word  of  these  proceedings  was  brought  to  the  king,  he 
greatly  rejoiced,  for  it  seemed  to  him  that  his  purpose  had  been 
securely  attained.  The  whole  work  was  read  through  to  him,  and 
he  was  greatly  astonished  at  the  spirit  of  the  lawgiver.  And  he 
said  to  Demetrius,  "  How  is  it  that  none  of  the  historians  or  poets 
ever  thought  of  mentioning  such  great  achievements?  .  ." 

The  king,  when  he  heard  the  explanation  which  Demetrius  gave 
of  this  matter,  as  above  narrated,  made  obeisance,  and  ordered  that 
great  care  should  be  taken  of  the  books,  and  that  they  should  be 
guarded  with  proper  awe.  .  . 

There,  Philocrates,  thou  hast  the  whole  story  which  I  promised 
thee.  .  . 


TRANSLATION  FROM  THE  SEPTUAGINT 


1.  Kingdoms  A,  Chapter  17  {—  1  Samuel  17) 

DAVID   AND   GOLIATH 

1.  And  the  Philistines  assembled  their  armies  for  war,  and  were 
assembled  at  Succoth  of  Idumea,  and  they  encamped  between  Suc- 
coth  and  Azeka-Ephermem.  2.  And  Saul  and  the  men  of  Israel 
assembled  and  encamped  in  the  ravine ;  they  were  arrayed  for 
war  against  the  Philistines.  3.  And  the  Philistines  stood  on  the 
mountain  on  one  side,  and  Israel  stood  on  the  mountain  on  the 
other  side,  with  an  amphitheater  between  them.  4.  And  there  went 
forth  a  mighty  man  from  the  battle-line  of  the  Philistines,  named 
Goliath,  of  Gath :  his  height  was  four  cubits  and  a  span.  5.  And 
a  helmet  was  upon  his  head,  and  he  was  clad  in  a. chainlike  cuirass, 
and  the  weight  of  his  cuirass  was  five  thousand  shekels  of  bronze 
and  iron.  6.  And  bronze  greaves  were  upon  his  legs,  and  a  bronze 
shield  between  his  shoulders.  7.  And  the  shaft  of  his  spear  was 
like  the  beam  of  weavers,  and  his  spear-head  six  hundred  shekels 
of  iron ;  and  he  who  carried  his  weapons  went  before  him.  8.  And 
he  rose  up  and  shouted  aloud  to  the  battle-line  of  Israel,  and  said 
unto  them,  Why  do  ye  come  forth  to*  array  yourselves  in  war 
against  us?  Am  not  I  a  Philistine,  and  ye  and  Saul  Hebrews? 
Choose  out  for  yourselves  a  man  and  let  him  come  down  to  me ; 
9.  and  if  he  is  able  to  fight  against  me,  and  if  he  smites  me,  then 
wfe  will  be  slaves  to  you,  but  if  I  am  able  and  smite  him,  ye  shall 
be  slaves  to  us  and  serve  us.  10.  And  the  Philistine  said.  Behold, 
I  have  reproached  the  battle-line  of  Israel  today:  give  me  a  man, 
and  we  will  both  fight  together.  IL  And  Saul  and  all  Israel  heard 
these  words  of  the  Philistine,  and  were  terrified  exceedingly. 
32.  And  David  said  to  Saul,  Let  not,  now,  the  heart  of  my  lord 
collapse  upon  him;  thy  servant  will  go  and  fight  with  this  Philis- 
tine. 33.  And  Saul  said  to  David,  Thou  wilt  not  be  able  to  go 
against  this  Philistine  to  fight  with  him,  for  thou  art  a  young 
boy,  and  he  is  a  man,  a  warrior  from  his  youth.     34.  And  David 

143 


144  Makers  of  the  Bible 

said  to  Saul,  Thy  servant  was  tending  flocks  for  his  father  in  the 
pasture;  and  whenever  there  came  a  lion  or  a  bear  and  took 
a  sheep  from  the  herd,  35.  then  I  went  forth  after  him  and  smote 
him,  and  drew  it  out  of  his  mouth;  and  if  he  set  upon  me,  I 
seized  him  by  his  throat  and  smote  and  killed  him.  36.  And  a 
bear  thy  servant  smote,  and  a  lion,  and  the  uncircumcised  Philis- 
tine shall  be  as  one  of  these;  shall  I  not  go  and  smite  him,  and 
take  away  reproach  today  from  Israel?  Because  who  is  this  un- 
circumcised, that  he  reproaches  the  battle-line  of  a  living  God? 
37.  The  Lord  who  delivered  me  from  the  paw  of  a  lion  and  the 
paw  of  a  bear  will  deliver  me  from  the  hand  of  this  uncircumcised 
Philistine.  And  Saul  said  to  David,  Go,  and  the  Lord  be  with 
thee.  38.  And  Saul  put  upon  David  a  woolen  cloak  and  a  bronze 
helmet  upon  his  head,  39.  and  he  girded  David  with  his  sword 
over  his  woolen  cloak;  and  he  became  weary  after  he  had  walked 
about  once  or  twice.  And  David  said  to  Saul,  I  am  not  able  to 
go  in  these,  because  I  have  not  tried  them.  And  they  took  them 
off  him.  40.  And  he  took  his  staff  in  his  hand  and  picked  out  for 
himself  five  perfect  stones  from  the  creek  bed  and  put  them  in 
his  shepherd's  scrip,  which  he  had  for  gathering  articles,  and 
his  sling  in  his  hand ;  and  he  went  against  the  Philistine.  42.  And 
Goliath  saw  David  and  despised  him,  because  he  was  a  young  boy 
and  ruddy  with  beauty  of  eyes.  43.  And  the  Philistine  said  to 
David,  Am  I  like  a  dog,  that  thou  comest  against  me  with  a  rod 
and  stones?  And  David  said,  No,  worse  than  a  dog.  And  the 
Philistine  cursed  David  by  his  gods.  44.  And  the  Philistine 
said  to  David,  Come  hither  to  me,  and  I  will  give  thy  flesh  to  the 
fowls  of  heaven  and  the  beasts  of  earth.  45.  And  David  said 
to  the  Philistine,  Thou  comest  against  me  with  sword  and  spear 
and  shield,  and  I  come  against  thee  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  God 
of  the  hosts  of  Israel's  battle-line,  which  thou  hast  reproached 
today.  46.  And  the  Lord  will  shut  thee  up  today  in  my  hand, 
and  I  will  kill  thee  and  will  take  away  thy  head  from  thee,  and 
will  give  thy  members  and  the  members  of  the  army  of  the 
Philistines  on  this  day  to  the  fowls  of  heaven  and  the  beasts 
of  earth :  and  all  the  earth  shall  know  that  there  is  a  God  in  Israel. 
47.  And  all  this  congregation  shall  know  that  it  is  not  with  sword 
and  spear  that  the  Lord  saves:  for  war  is  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
Lord  will  deliver   thee  into   our   hands.     48.  And   the   Philistine 


Appendix  145 

arose  and  went  to  meet  David.  49.  And  David  put  forth  his 
hand  into  the  scrip  and  took  thence  a  single  stone  and  slung  it 
and  smote  the  Philistine  in  the  forehead,  and  the  stone  went 
through  the  helmet  into  his  forehead,  and  he  fell  upon  his  face 
to  the  ground.  51.  And  David  ran  and  stood  over  him  and  took 
his  sword  and  killed  him  and  took  off  his  head:  and  the  Philis- 
tines saw  that  their  mighty  man  was  dead,  and  they  fled.  52.  And 
the  men  of  Israel  and  Judah  arose  and  raised  the  war-cry,  and 
pursued  after  them  to  the  entrance  of  Gath  and  to  the  gate  of 
Askalon:  and  there  fell  wounded  some  of  the  Philistines  on  the 
way  of  the  gates  both  to  Gath  and  Akron.  53.  And  the  men  of 
Israel  returned,  turning  aside  from  after  the  Philistines,  and  they 
trod  down  their  armies.  54.  And  David  took  the  head  of  the 
Philistine  and  bore  it  into  Jerusalem,  and  his  accouterments  he 
placed  in  his  tent. 

2.  Kingdoms  T,  19  :  1-12  (=  1  Kings  19  :  1-12) 

story  of  elijah 

1.  And  Ahab  told  Jezebel  his  wife  all  that  Elijah  had  done,  and 
how  he  had  killed  the  prophets  with  the  sword.  2.  And  Jezebel 
sent  to  Elijah  and  said,  If  thou  art  Elijah  and  I  am  Jezebel, 
these  things  may  the  god  do  to  me  and  more  also,  (but  know) 
that  at  this  hour  tomorrow  I  will  make  thy  life  as  the  life  of 
one  of  them.  3,  And  Elijah  feared  and  arose  and  went  away 
for  his  life  and  came  to  Beersheba,  the  land  of  Judah,  and  left 
his  servant  there.  4.  And  he  proceeded  into  the  desert  a  day's 
journey  and  went  and  sat  down  under  Rathmen;  and  he  asked  for 
himself  that  he  might  die  and  said,  Let  it  suffice  now,  take  my 
life  from  me,  Lord,  for  I  am  not  better  than  my  fathers.  5.  And 
he  lay  down  and  fell  asleep  there  under  a  tree :  and  behold,  some 
one  touched  him  and  said  unto  him,  Arise  and  eat.  6.  And  Elijah 
looked,  and  behold,  at  his  head  a  rye  loaf  and  a  cruse  of  water: 
and  he  arose  and  ate  and  drank  and  turned  and  lay  down.  7.  And 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  turned  a  second  time  and  touched  him  and 
said  unto  him,  Arise,  eat;  for  too  much  for  thee  is  the  journey. 
8.  And  he  arose  and  ate  and  drank;  and  he  proceeded  in  the 
strength  of  that   food   forty  days  and   forty  nights  unto   Mount 


146  Makers  of  the  Bible 

Horeb.  9.  And  there  he  went  into  the  cave  and  lodged  there;  and 
behold,  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  him  and  said,  Why  art 
thou  here,  Elijah?  10.  And  Elijah  said,  Zealously  have  I  been 
zealous  for  the  Lord  Almighty,  because  the  sons  of  Israel  have 
forsaken  thee;  thine  altars  they  have  torn  down  and  thy  prophets 
they  have  killed  with  the  sword,  and  I  am  left  alone,  and  they 
seek  my  life  to  take  it.  11.  And  he  said,  Thou  shalt  go  forth 
tomorrow  and  shalt  stand  before  the  Lord  in  the  mount;  behold, 
the  Lord  will  pass  b3\  And  a  great  mighty  wind  was  rending 
mountains  and  crushing  rocks  before  the  Lord,  in  the  wind  of  the 
Lord  (required  reading:  but  not  in  the  wind  was  the  Lord)  ;  and 
after  the  wind,  an  earthquake  (but)  not  in  the  earthquake  was 
the  Lord;  12.  and  after  the  earthquake,  a  fire,  (but)  not  in  the 
fire  was  the  Lord ;  and  after  the  fire,  a  sound  of  a  gentle  breeze. 

3.  Kingdoms  J,  1  :  18  to  2  :  1  (=  2  Kings  1  :  18 

TO  2  :  1) 

ACCESSION    OF   JORAM 

18.  And  the  rest  of  the  words  of  Ochozeios  [Ahaziah]  which 
he  made,  behold  are  they  not  written  in  the  book  of  the  accounts 
of  the  days  for  the  kings  of  Israel?  And  Joram,  son  of  Achaab 
[Ahab]  was  king  over  Israel  in  Samaria  twelve  years,  in  the 
eighteenth  year  of  Jehoshaphat  king  of  Judah.  And  he  did  evil 
before  the  Lord,  but  not  as  his  brothers  and  not  as  his  mother; 
and  he  put  away  the  pillars  of  the  Baal  which  his  father  had 
made  and  crushed  them;  but  he  was  firmly  fixed  in  the  sins  of 
the  house  of  Jeroboam  who  made  Israel  to  sin,  and  he  did  not 
withdraw  from  them.  And  with  wrath  was  the  Lord  vexed  against 
the  house  of  Achaab.     (See  2  Kings  3  :  1-3.) 

4.  Psalm  XIII  (XIV)  R.  V.  XIV 

FOR   THE  end:   A   PSALM    FOR  THE  DAVID 

1.  Said  the  fool  in  his  heart.  There  is  no  God. 

They  became  corrupt  and  loathsome  in  their  practises, 
There  is  no  one  doing  good,  there  is  not  even  one. 


Appendix  147 

2.  The  Lord  from  heaven  peeped  down  upon  the  sons  of  men, 
To  see  if  there  was  an  understanding  one,  or  one  seeking  God. 

3.  All  turned  aside,  together  they  became  useless. 
There  is  no  one  doing  good,  there  is  not  even  one. 
An  open  sepulcher  is  their  throat, 

With  their  tongues  they  became  deceitful. 

The  poison  of  asps  is  under  their  lips, 

Whose  mouth  is  filled  with  cursing  and  bitterness. 

Swift  their  feet  to  shed  blood. 

Destruction  and  wretchedness  are  in  their  ways, 

And  the  way  of  peace  they  have  not  known. 

There  is  not  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes. 

4.  Will  not  all  they  that  work  iniquity  know. 

Those  that  eat  down  my  people  for  a  meal  of  bread  ? 
They  did  not  call  upon  the  Lord. 

5.  There  they  were  afraid  with  fear  where  there  was  no  fear; 
For  God  is  in  the  righteous  generation. 

6.  The  counsel  of  the  poor  ye  put  to  shame. 
For  the  Lord  is  his  hope. 

7.  Who  will  give  from  Sion  the  salvation  of  Israel? 

When  the  Lord  shall  turn  the  captivity  of  his  people, 
Let  Jacob  rejoice  and  Israel  be  glad. 


5.  Jeremiah  8  :  8-13 

8.  How  do  ye  say.  Wise  are  we,  and  the  law  of  the  Lord 
is  with  us?  In  vain  was  the  false  reed  to  the  scribes.  9.  The 
wise  were  ashamed  and  dismayed  and  taken,  for  the  law  of  the 
Lord  they  rejected;  what  wisdom  is  there  among  them?  10.  On 
this  account  I  will  give  their  wives  to  others  and  their  fields  to  the 
heirs,  13.  and  they  shall  bring  together  their  products,  saith  the 
Lord :  there  is  no  grape-cluster  on  the  vines  and  no  figs  on  the 
fig-trees,  and  the  leaves  are  fallen. 


148  Makers  of  the  Bible 

6.  Jeremiah  10  :  l-5a,  9,  5b 

Hear  ye  the  word  of  the  Lord  which  he  spake  with  reference 
to  you,  house  of  Israel.  These  things  saith  the  Lord,  According 
to  the  ways  of  the  Gentiles  learn  ye  not,  and  of  the  signs  of  the 
heaven  be  not  afraid,  for  they  fear  them  because  of  their  appear- 
ance. For  the  customs  of  the  Gentiles  are  vain:  a  tree  is  cut 
out  from  the  woods,  a  work  of  an  artisan,  and  an  image,  adorned 
with  silver  and  gold ;  with  hammers  and  nails  they  fasten  them : 
they  will  place  them  and  they  will  not  be  moved :  there  is  chased 
silver,  they  will  not  proceed,  silver  affixed  from  Tharseis  will 
come,  gold  of  Mophaz,  and  the  hand  of  goldsmiths,  works  of 
artificers  all ;  with  hyacinth  and  purple  they  clothe  them :  they  will 
be  borne  and  carried  because  they  will  not  go.  Fear  ye  not  them, 
for  they  shall  not  do  evil,  and  good  is  not  in  them. 

7.  Jeremiah  29  :  15-23  (Lxx,  ch.  36) 

15.  Because  ye  have  said.  The  Lord  appointed  prophets  for  us 
in  Babylon;  21.  Thus  said  the  Lord  with  reference  to  Ahab  and 
Zedekiah,  Behold,  I  give  them  into  the  hands  of  the  king  of 
Babylon,  and  he  will  smite  them  before  your  eyes.  22.  And  they 
shall  take  up  from  them  a  curse  in  all  the  colony  of  Judah 
in  Babylon,  saying,  T>^Iay  the  Lord  do  to  thee  as  he  did  to  Zedekiah 
and  Ahab,  whom  the  king  of  Babylon  broiled  with  fire,  23.  on 
account  of  their  lawless  conduct  in  Israel,  and  committed  adultery 
with  the  wives  of  their  citizens,  and  uttered  a  word  in  my  name 
which  I  did  not  command  them,  and  I  am  witness,  saith  the  Lord. 

SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  VULGATE  ^ 

1.  Genesis  1:1-8 

1.  In  principio  creavit  Dens  caelum  et  terram.  2.  Terra  autem 
erat  inanis  et  vacua,  et  teriebrae  erant  super  faciem  abyssi;  et 
Spiritus  Dei  ferebatur  super  aquas. 

3.  Dixitque  Deus:  Fiat  lux.  Et  facta  est  lux.  4.  Et  vidit  Deus 
lucem  quod  cssct  bona.     Et  divisit  lucem  a  tenebris.     5.  Appella- 

'  This  and  the  following  selections  from  the  Vulgate  are  taken  from 
Pillion's  Biblia  Sacra  juxta  Vulgate,  sixth  edition,  Paris,  Aug.  15,  1905. 


Appendix  149 

vitqii^e  lucem  Diem,  ct  tenebras  Noctem.     Factumque  est  vcspere 
et  mane,  dies  imus, 

6.  Dixit  quoque  Deus:  Fiat  firmamentum  in  medio  aquarum,  et 
dividat  aquas  ab  aquis.  7.  Et  fecit  Deus  firmamentum,  divisitque 
aquas  quae  erant  sub  firmamento ,  ab  his  quae  erant  super  firma- 
mentum. Et  factum  est  ita.  8.  Vocavitque  Deus  firmamentum 
Caelum.    Et  factum  vespere  et  mane,  dies  secundus. 

2.  Job  38  :  1-9 

1.  Respondens  autem  Domijius  Job  de  turbine,  dixit: 

2.  Quis  est  iste  involvcns  sententias 

sermonibus  imperitisf 

3.  Accinge  sicut  vir  lumbos  tuos; 

interrogabo  te,  et  responde  mihi. 

4.  Ubi  eras  quando  poncbam  fundamenta  terrae? 

Indica  mihi,  si  habes  intelligentiam. 

5.  Quis  posuit  mensuras  ejus,  si  nosti? 

vet  quis  tetendit  super  eam  lineamf 

6.  Super  quo  bases  illius  solidatae  sunt? 

aut  quis  demisit  lapidem  angularem  ejus, 

7.  cum  me  laudarent  simul  astra  matutina, 

et  jubilarent  omnes  filii  Dei? 

8.  Quis  concliisit  ostiis  mare, 

quando  erumpebat  quasi  de  vulva  procedens; 

9.  cum  ponerem  nubem  vestimentum  ejus, 

et  caligine  illud  quasi  pannis  infantiae  obvolverem? 

3.  Psalm  24  (Vulg.  23) 
Psalmus  XXIII 

Hymnus  triumphalis  pro  translatione  arcae  in  Sion 

1.  Prima  sabbati,  Psalmus  David. 

Domini  est  terra,  et  plenitudo  ejus; 

orbis  terrarum,  et  universi  qui  habitant  in  eo. 

2.  Quia  ipse  super  maria  fundavit  cum, 

et  super  flumina  praeparavit  cum. 


150  Makers  of  the  Bible 

3.  Quis  ascendct  in  montem  Domini? 

ant  quis  stabit  in  loco  sancto  ejus? 

4.  Innocens  manibus  et  mundo  corde, 

qui  non  accepit  in  vano  animam  suant, 
nee  juravit  in  dolo  proximo  suo. 

5.  Hie  aecipiet  benedietionem  a  Domino, 

et  misericordiam  a  Deo  salutari  suo. 

6.  Haec  est  generatio  quarentium  eum, 

quaerentiimi  faciem  Dei  Jaeob. 

7.  Attollite  port  as,  principes,  vestras, 

et  elevamini,  portae  aeternales, 
et  introibit  rex  gloriae. 

8.  Quis  est  iste  rex  gloriae? 

Dominus  fortis  et  potens, 
Dominus  potens  in  praelio. 

9.  Attollite  portas,  principes,  vestras, 

et  elevamini,  portae  aeternales, 
et  introibit  rex  gloriae. 
10.  Quis  est  iste  rex  gloriae? 

Dominus  virtutum  ipse  est  rex  gloriae. 

4.  Isaiah  53 

1.  Quis  credidit  auditui  nostra?  et  brachium  Domini  cut  reve- 
latum  est?  2.  Et  ascendet  sicut  virgultum  coram  eo,  et  sicut 
radix  de  terra  sitienti.  Non  est  species  ei,  neque  decor;  et  vidimus 
eum,  et  non  erat  aspectus,  et  desideravimus  eum;  3.  despectum, 
et  novissimum  virorum,  virum  dolorum,  et  scientem  infirmitatem; 
et  quasi  absconditus  vultus  ejus  et  despectus,  unde  nee  reputavimus 
eum. 

4.  Vere  languores  nostras  ipse  tulit,  et  dolores  nostras  ipse  par- 
tavit;  et  nos  putaviwAis  eum  quasi  leprosum,  et  percussum  a  Deo, 
et  humiliatum.  5.  Ipse  autem  vulneratus  est  propter  iniquitat£S 
nostras,  attrittis  est  propter  scelera  nostra;  disciplina  pacts  nostrae 
super  eum,  et  livore  ejus  sanati  sutnus.  6.  Onines  nos  quasi  oves 
erravimus,  nnusquisque  in  viam  siiam  declinavit;  et  posuit  Dominus 
in  eo  iniquitatem  omnium  nostrum. 

7.  Oblatus  est  quia  ipse  voluit,  et  non  aperuit  os  suum;  sicut 
ovis  ad  occisionem  ducetur,  et  quasi  agnus  coram  tondente  se 
obmutescet,  et  non  aperiet  os  suum.    8.  D£  angustia,  et  de  judicio 


Appendix  151 

sublatiis  est.  Generationem  ejus  quis  enarrabit?  quia  abscissas  est 
de  terra  viventium.  Propter  scelus  populi  mei  percussi  eiwi. 
9.  Et  dabit  impios  pro  sepidtura,  et  divitem  pro  morte  sua,  eo  quod 
iniquitatem  non  fecerit,  neque  dolus  fuerit  in  ore  ejus. 

10.  Et  Dominus  voluit  conterere  eum  in  infirmitate.  Si  posuerit 
pro  peccato  animam  suam,  videbit  semen  longaevum,  et  voluntas 
Domini  in  manu  ejus  dirigetur.  11.  Pro  eo  quod  laboravit  anima 
ejus,  videbit  et  saturabitur.  In  scientia  sua  justificabit  ipse  Justus 
servus  meus  multos,  et  iniquitotes  eorum  ipse  portabit.  12.  Ideo 
dispertiam  ei  plurimos,  et  fortium  dividet  spolia,  pro  eo  quod 
tradidit  in  mortem  animam  suam,  et  cum  sceleratis  reputatus  est, 
et  ipse  peccata  multorum  tulit,  et  pro  transgressoribus  rogavit. 

5.  Luke  2  :  8-14 

B.  Et  pastores  erant  in  regione  eadem  vigilantes,  et  custodientes 
vigilias  noctis  super  gregem  sumn.  9.  Et  ecce  angelus  Domini  stetit 
juxta  illos,  ei  claritas  Dei  circumfulsit  illos,  et  timuerunt  iimore 
magno.  10.  Et  dixit  illis  angelus:  Nolite  timer e;  ecce  enim 
evangelizo  vobis  gaudium  magnum,  quod  erit  omni  populo:  11. 
quia  natus  est  vobis  hodie  Salvator,  qui  est  Christus  Dominus,  in 
civitate  David.  12.  Et  hoc  vobis  signum:  invenietis  infantem  pan- 
nis  involtum,  et  positum  in  praesepio.  13.  Et  subito  facta  est  cum 
angelo  multitudo  militiae  caelestis,  laudantium  Deum,  et  dicentiutn: 

14.  Gloria  in  altissimis  Deo, 

et  in  terra  pax  hominibus  bonae  voluntatis. 

6.  Revelation  4  :  8-11 

8.  Et  quatuor  animalia,  singula  eorum  habebant  alas  senas  et  in 
circuitu  et  intus  plena  sunt  oculis;  et  requiem  non  habebant  die 
ac  nocte,  dicentia:  Sanctus,  Sanctus,  Sanctus  Dominus  Deus  om- 
nipotens,  qui  erat,  et  qui  est,  et  qui  venturus  est.  9.  Et  cum  darent 
ilia  animalia  gloriam,  et  honorem,  et  benedictionem  sedenti  super 
thronum,  viventi  in  saecula  saeculorum,  10.  procidebant  viginti 
quatuor  seniores  ante  sedcntem  in  throno,  et  adorabant  viventefn 
in  saecula  saeculorum,  et  mittebant  coronas  suas  ante  thronum, 
dicentes:  11.  Dignus  es,  Domine  Deus  noster,  accipere  gloriam  et 
honorem,  et  virtutem,  quia  tu  creasti  omnia,  et  propter  voluu' 
tatem  tuam  erant  et  creata  sunt. 
M 


152  Makers  of  the  Bible 

7.  Revelation  11  :  15-19 

15.  Et  Septimus  angelus  tuba  cecinit;  et  factae  sunt  voces  mag- 
nae  in  caelo,  dicentes:  Factum  est  regnum  hujus  mundi,  Domini 
nostri  et  Christi  ejus,  et  regnabit  in  saecula  saeculorum.  Amen. 
16.  Et  viginti  quatuor  senior es,  qui  in  conspectu  Dei  sedent  in  se- 
dibus  suis,  ceciderunt  in  fades  suas,  et  adoraverunt  Deum,  dicen- 
tes:  17.  Gratias  agimus  tibi,  Domine  Deus  omnipotens,  qui  es,  et 
qui  eras,  et  qui  venturus  es,  quia  accepisti  virtutem  tuam  magnam, 
et  regnoisti.  18.  Et  iratae  sunt  gentes,  et  advenit  ira  tua,  et  tempus 
mortuorum  judicari,  et  reddere  mercedem  servis  tuis  prophetis,  et 
Sanctis,  et  timentibus  nomen  tuum,  pusillis  et  magnis,  et  extermi- 
nandi  eos  qui  corruperunt  terram.  19.  Et  apertum  est  templum 
Dei  in  caelo;  et  visa  est  area  testamenti  ejus  in  templo  ejus,  et 
facta  sunt  fulgura,  et  voces,  et  terrae  motus,  et  grando  magna. 


SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  PREFACE  OF 
THE  KING  JAMES  VERSION  ' 


But  it  is  high  time  to  leaue  them  (the  imputations  of 
adversaries),  and  to  shew  in  briefe  what  wee  proposed  to 
our  selues,  and  what  course  we  held  in  this  our  perusall  and 
suruay  of  the  Bible.  Truly  (good  Christian  Reader)  wee 
neuer  thought  from  the  beginning,  that  we  shquld  neede  to 
make  a  new  Translation,  nor  yet  to  make  of  a  bad  one  a 
good  one,  .  .  but  to  make  a  good  one  better,  or  out  of  many 
good  ones,  one  principall  good  one,  not  iustly  to  be  excepted 
against;  that  hath  bene  our  indeauour,  that  our  marke.  To 
that  purpose  there  were  many  chosen,  that  were  greater  in 
other  mens  eyes  then  in  their  owne,  and  that  sought  the 
truth  rather  then  their  own  praise.  .  .  And  in  what  sort  did 
these  assemble?  In  the  trust  of  their  owne  knowledge,  or 
of  their  sharpenesse  of  wit,  or  deepenesse  of  iudgment,  as  it 
were  in  an  arme  of  flesh?  At  no  hand.  They  trusted  in 
him  that  hath  the  key  of  David,  opening  and  no  man  shut- 
ting ;  they  prayed  to  the  Lord  the  Father  of  our  Lord,  to  the 
effect  that  S.  Augustine  did;  O  let  thy  Scripture  be  my 
pure  delight,  let  me  not  be  deceiued  in  them,  neither  let  me 
deceiue  by  them.  In  this  confidence,  and  with  this  deuotion 
did  they  assemble  together;  not  too  many,  lest  one  should 
trouble  another ;  and  yet  many,  lest  many  things  haply  might 
escape  them.  If  you  aske  what  they  had  before  them,  truely 
it  was  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  Olde  Testament,  the  Greeke 
of  the  New.  .  .  These  tounges  therefore,  the  Scriptures  wee 
say  in  those  tongues,  wee  set  before  vs  to  translate,  being  the 
tongues  wherein  God  was  pleased  to  speake  to  his  Church 
by  his  Prophets  and  Apostles.  Neither  did  we  run  ouer 
the  worke  with  that  posting  haste  that  the  Septuagint  did, 
if  that  be  true  which  is  reported  of  them,  that  they  finished 

'  Taken  from  the  Cambridge  University  reprint  of  the  Authorized 
Version  of  the  English  Bible,  1611,  Vol.  I,  in  Cambridge  English 
Classics,   1909,  pp.   8-29- 

153 


Purpose  and 
spirit  of  the 
translators  of 
the  King  James 
Version. 


Their  task  and 
the  care  with 
which  they  per- 
formed it. 


154  Makers  of  the  Bible 

it  in  72.  dayes;  neither  were  we  barred  or  hindered  from 
going  ouer  it  againe,  hauing  once  done  it,  .  .  None  of  these 
things :  the  worke  hath  not  bene  hudled  vp  in  72.  dayes,  but 
hath  cost  the  workemen,  as  hght  as  it  seemeth,  the  paines 
of  twise  seuen  times  seuentie  two  dayes  and  more :  matters 
of  such  weight  and  consequences  are  to  bee  speeded  with 
maturitie:  for  in  a  businesse  of  moment  a  man  feareth  not 
the  blame  of  conuenient  slacknesse.  .  .  Neither  did  we  dis- 
daine  to  reuise  that  which  we  hade  done,  and  to  bring  backe 
to  the  anuill  that  which  we  had  hammered :  but  hauing  and 
vsing  as  great  helps  as  were  need  full,  and  fearing  no  re- 
proch  for  slownesse,  nor  coueting  praise  for  expedition,  wee 
haue  at  the  length,  through  the  good  hand  of  the  Lord 
vpon  vs,  brought  the  worke  to  that  passe  that  you  see. 
Their  reasons       Some  peraduenture  Would  haue  no  varietie  of  sences  to  be 

variatit  render-   set  in  the  margine,  lest  the  authoritie  of  the  Scriptures  for 
margin  ^^their   ^^ciding  of  controuersies  by  that  shew  of  vncertaintie,  should 

liberal-minded-  somewhat  be  shaken.  But  we  hold  their  iudgmet  not  to 
be  so  sound  in  this  point.  .  .  It  hath  pleased  God  in  his 
diuine  prouidence,  heere  and  there  to  scatter  wordes  and 
sentences  of  that  difficultie  and  doubtfulnesse,  not  in  doc- 
trinall  points  that  concerne  saluation,  (for  in  such  it  hath 
beene  vouched  that  the  Scriptures  are  plaine)  but  in  matters 
of  lesse  moment,  that  fearefulnesse  would  better  beseeme  vs 
than  confidence,  and  if  we  will  resolue,  to  resolue  vpon 
modestie  with  S.  Augustine  (though  not  in  this  same  case 
altogether,  yet  vpon  the  same  ground)  Melius  est  dnhitare  de 
occultis,  quam  litigare  de  incertis,  it  is  better  to  make  doubt 
of  those  things  which  are  secret,  then  to  striue  about  those 
things  that  are  vncertaine.  There  be  many  words  in  the 
Scriptures,  which  be  neuer  found  there  but  once,  (hauing 
neither  brother  nor  neighbour,  as  the  Hebrews  speake)  so 
that  we  cannot  be  holpen  by  conference  of  places.  .  .  Now 
in  such  a  case,  doth  not  a  margime  do  well  to  admonish  the 
Reader  to  seeke  further,  and  not  to  conclude  or  dogmatize 
vpon  this  or  that  peremptorily?  For  as  it  is  a  fault  of  in- 
creduHtie,  to  doubt  of  those  things  that  are  euident:  so  to 
determine  of  such  things  as  the  Spirit  of  God  hath  left 
(euen  in  the  iudgment  of  the  iudicious)  questionable,  can  be 


ness. 


Appendix 


155 


no  lesse  then  presumption.  Therefore  as  S.  Augustine  saith, 
that  varietie  of  Translations  is  profitable  for  the  finding  out 
of  the  sense  of  the  Scriptures :  so  diuersitie  of  signification 
and  sense  in  the  margine,  where  the  text  is  not  so  cleare, 
must  needes  do  good,  yea,  is  necessary,  as  we  are  per- 
swaded. 

An  other  thing  we  thinke  good  to  admonish  thee  of 
(gentle  Reader)  that  wee  haue  not  tyed  our  selues  to  an 
vniformitie  of  phrasing,  or  to  an  identitie  of  words,  as  some 
peraduenture  would  wish  that  we  had  done,  because  they 
obserue,  that  some  learned  men  some  where,  haue  beene  as 
exact  as  they  could  that  way.  Truly,  that  we  might  not  varie 
from  the  sense  of  that  which  we  had  translated  before,  if 
the  word  signified  the  same  thing  in  both  places  (for  there 
bee  some  wordes  that  bee  not  of  the  same  sense  euery 
where)  we  were  especially  careful,  and  made  a  conscience, 
according  to  our  duetie.  But,  that  we  should  expresse  the 
same  notion  m  the  same  particular  word;  as  for  example, 
if  we  translate  the  Hebrew  or  Greeke  word  once  by  Pur- 
pose, neuer  to  call  it  Intent;  if  one  where  lourneying,  neuer 
Traueiling ;  if  one  where  Thinke,  neuer  Suppose ;  if  one 
where  Paine,  neuer  Ache;  if  one  where  loy,  neuer  Glad- 
nesse,  &c.  Thus  to  minse  the  matter,  wee  thought  to  sauour 
more  of  curiositie  then  wisedome,  and  that  rather  it  would 
breede  scorne  in  the  Atheist,  then  bring  profite  to  the  godly 
Reader.  For  is  the  kingdome  of  God  become  words  or 
syllables?  why  should  wee  be  in  bondage  to  them  if  we 
may  be  free,  vse  one  precisely  when  wee  may  vse  another 
no  lesse  fit,  as  commodiously?  .  ,  Lastly,  wee  haue  on  the 
one  side  auoided  the  scrupulositie  of  the  Puritanes,  .  .  as 
also  on  the  other  side  we  haue  shunned  the  obscuritie  of  the 
Papists.  .  .  But  we  desire  that  the  Scripture  may  speak  like 
it  selfe,  as  in  the  language  of  Canaan,  that  it  may  bee 
vnder stood  euen  of  the  very  vulgar. 


Their  reasons 
for  variety   of 
phrasing,  avoid- 
ing the  dangers 
of  both  Puritans 
and  Papists:  not 
literalists,  not 
slaves  to  their 
rules. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Alexandria:    Jewish    community    in, 

60;   translation  of  Old  Testament 

in,  60. 
Amanuenses,  35. 
Apocryphal  books,  52. 
Apostolic  Age,   Christian   hymns  of, 

23-25. 
Apostolic  Fathers,  72. 
Aramaic:  portions  of  Old  Testament, 

4;  and  Hebrew,  original  languages 

of  Old  Testament,  58. 
Aristeas:  story  of  translation  of  Sep- 

tuagint  by,  60;  letter  of,  60,   137- 

142. 
Aristotle  on  Constitution  of  Athens, 

83. 
Augustine   and   the   Latin   versions, 

73. 


B 


Baruch,  scribe  of  Jeremiah,  38. 

Bengel,  J.  A.,  and  textual  criticism, 
109. 

Bentley,  Richard,  and  textual  criti- 
cism, 108. 

Bible,  the:  historical  study  of,  2,  lo, 
11;  a  collection  of  books,  2,  3,  10; 
different  kinds  of  materials  in,  3; 
diversity  of  languages  in,  4;  types 
of  literature  in,  4;  difficulties  in 
translation  of,  5;  ethical  standards 
in,  6;  different  conceptions  of  God 
in,  6,  7;  origin  of  the  word,  7-10; 
early  collection  of  books  of,  8,  9; 
names  of  sections  of,  8,  9;  phases 
of  historical  study  of,  11;  lost 
books  referred  to  in,  20-25;  lost 
books  quoted  in,  14-20,  24;  back- 
ground literature  of,  26;  literary 
instinct  in  writers  of,  31,  33; 
manner  of  writing  books  of,  35- 
41;    human    element    in,    41,    42; 


first  written  on  rolls,  46;  Jewish 
division  of,  46;  early  circulation 
of  books  of,  47;  compendia  of 
books  of,  49;  variant  readings  in, 
explained,  49;  arrangement  of 
books  of,  46,  50;  as  authoritative 
Scriptures,  53;  original  languages 
of,  58;  in  Greek  version,  59-69; 
capacity  of,  for  translation,  68, 
69;  in  Latin  versions,  71-78;  ver- 
sions a  basis  of,  in  modern  form, 
80;  debt  of,  to  Church  Fathers,  80; 
manuscripts  most  important  basis 
of,  82;  most  important  codices  of, 
85-88;  errors  in  text  of,  91-102; 
early  marginal  notes  in  text  of, 
92;  variants  in  text  of,  95-102; 
text  of,  well  supported,  102;  tex- 
tual criticism  and,  104-114;  begin- 
nings of  printed  text  of,  105; 
types  of  text  of,  in  New  Testa- 
ment manuscripts,  111-113;  differ- 
ing interpretations  of,  116;  verbal 
contradictions  and  inconsistencies 
in,  118;  figurative  language  of, 
119;  actual  autographs  of  writers 
of,  lost,  121;  divine  character  of, 
127;  power  of,  over  men,  127;  re- 
ligious effect  of,  127;  molding  in- 
fluence of,  on  civilization,  128;  a 
book  of  inner  spiritual  truth,  129; 
not  dependent  on  formal  truthful- 
ness, 129;  authority  of,  130;  the 
purpose  of,  130;  natural  growth  of 
canon  of,  54;  difference  of,  from 
books  of  other  religions,  131; 
proper  attitude  toward,  131;  ca- 
pacity of,  for  translation  into  the 
language  of  each  heart,  132. 

Bibliography,  2,  13,  29,  44,  57,  71, 
79,  91.  103,  US.  126. 

Birth  register  of  Jesus,  7. 

Book  of  Jashar,  16-19. 

Book  of  the  Law:  Josiah's,  50; 
Ezra's,  51. 

159 


160 


Index 


Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah,   14- 

16,  19. 
Book-rolls,  34,  45f  57- 
Books:    early    materials    for,    7;    in 

leaf  form,  49,  57. 


Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Israel 
and  Judah,  Books  of  the,  19,  20. 

Church  Fathers  and  our  modern 
Bible,  80. 

Church  letters  in  time  of  Paul,  22, 

23. 
Circulation    of   books   of   the   Bible, 

early,  46-55. 

Clement:  First  Epistle  of,  72;  quota- 
tions by,  from  the  Bible,  81. 

Compendia  of  Bible  books,  49. 

Codices  of  the  Bible:  Washington, 
85;  Vaticanus,  86;  Sinaiticus,  87. 


Damasus,  pope,  and  Jerome,  74,  105. 
David-Goliath  stories  in  Hebrew  and 
in  Septuagint,  67,  68. 


God,  conception  of:  in  New  Testa- 
ment, 6,  7;  in  Old  Testament,  6. 

Goliath-David  Stories  in  Hebrew  and 
in  Septuagint,  67,  68. 

Gospels    as    authoritative    Scripture, 

54- 

Gospel  writers,  interdependence  of, 
26. 

Gospels,  lost,  25,  26. 

Greek  language:  of  New  Testament, 
4;  used  by  Jews  in  Egypt,  59; 
used  in  Roman  Empire,  71. 

Griesbach,  J.  J.,  and  textual  criti- 
cism, 109. 


H 


Hebrew:  characteristics  of,  4;  and 
Aramaic,  original  languages  of 
Old  Testament,  58;  nature  of,  in 
sentence  structure,  58,  in  vocabu- 
lary, 59. 

Hermas,  "  Shepherd  "  of,  72. 

Hezekiah's  letter,  45. 

Historical  interpretation,  116. 

Historical  study  of  the  Bible,  2,  10, 
II. 

Hymns,  early  Christian,  fragments 
from,  23-25,  loi. 


Ecclesiasticus.       (See    "  Wisdom    of 

Sirach.") 
Egypt:   Jewish   communities   in,    59; 

Jewish  temple  in,  60. 
Elephantine  papyri,  59. 
Elzevirs,  107. 
Erasmus:  and  Acts  8  :  37,  99;  and 

printed    text    of    the    Bible,    105; 

not   always   wise   in   textual   criti- 
cism, 106. 
Esther,  book  of,  in  Hebrew  and  in 

Septuagint,  65. 
Estienne  and  the  printed  Greek  New 

Testament,  107. 
Eusebius,  41. 
Ezra's  books  of  the  law,  51. 


Folk-songs  of  Israel,  20. 
Froude     on     Greek     Testament     of 
Erasmus,  106. 


Ignatius:    letters   of,    53;    quotations 

from  Bible  by,  81. 
Inspiration,  verbal,  117,  121. 
Irenaeus:    works    of,    in    Greek,    72; 

on  wilful  corruption  of  Scripture, 

104. 


Jashar,  Book  of,  16-19. 

Jeremiah:  dictated  his  prophecies, 
38;  book  of,  in  Hebrew  and  in 
Septuagint,  66. 

Jerome:  translator  of  the  Vulgate, 
10;  life  of,  73;  preparation  of,  for 
work  as  translator,  74;  letter  of, 
to  pope  Damasus,  74,  105;  revised 
old  Latin  text,  75;  made  a  new 
translation,  the  Vulgate,  75;  sim- 
ple style  of  Latin  of,  76. 


Index 


161 


Josiah,  reforms  of,  50. 
Justin  Martyr,  quotations  from  Bible 
by,  82. 


K 


Kenyon,  estimate  of  length  of  New 

Testament  rolls  by,  47. 
King     James     translators:     modern 

spirit  of,  69;  tribute  of,  to  Jerome, 

78;  and  literalism,  124. 
King  James  version,  selections  from 

preface  of,  1 53-1 5  5- 
Kings,  books  of,  writer  of,  his  own 

penman,  35,  36. 


Lachmann,  Karl,  and  textual  criti- 
cism, no. 

Languages,  diversity  of,  in  Bible,  4. 

Latin  translations  of  Scriptures:  first 
made  in  eastern  Mediterranean 
world,  72;  early,  existing  in  nu- 
merous Mss.,  72;  no  complete  text 
of,  73;  character  of,  unsatisfac- 
tory, 73. 

Law,  the  Jewish:  written  in  a  sepa- 
rate roll,  46;  early  circulation  of, 
47;  widely  read,  48. 

Leaf -book,  49,  57. 

Letter-writing:  among  early  Chris- 
tians, 20-23,  53;  in  Old  Testament 
times,  20-23,  30,  45. 

Library,  divine,  3,  10. 

Literalism:  theory  of,  in  interpreta- 
tions of  Bible,  1 16-125;  inconsis- 
tencies of,  118;  variant  transla- 
tions against,  119;  variant  readings 
against,  121;  Biblical  writers  not 
upholders  of,  122;  later  church 
against,  124. 

Literature:  types  of,  in  Bible,  4; 
instinct    for,   among   Biblical   wri- 

.   ters,  31,  32. 

Luke:  used  earlier  Gospels,  25; 
quotes  early  hymns,  25,  26;  his 
own  penman,  37. 


M 


Manuscripts  of  Bible:  kinds  of,  82; 

names  of  more  important,  85-88. 
Marcion,  104. 


Marcus  Aurelius,  "  Meditations  "  of, 

72. 
Marginal   notes:    in    Bible    text,   92; 

rule  by  King  James  translators  as 

to,   94;    a   study   of,   in   American 

Standard  Revision,  94. 
Melito:    use   of    word    biblia   by,    9; 

"  Extracts  "  of,  49. 
Mill,    John,    and    textual    criticism, 

108. 
Mystarion,  letter  of,  41. 


N 


New  Testament:  language  of,  4; 
conception  of  God  in,  6,  7;  orig- 
inally written  on  rolls,  46;  proba- 
ble size  of  original  rolls  of,  47; 
early  circulation  of  books  of,  47, 
48;  collection  of  authoritative 
Scriptures  of,  53,  54;  marginal 
notes  in  text  of,  92;  three  types 
of  text  of,  111-113. 


Odes  of  Solomon,  24. 

Old  Latin.  (See  "Vulgate"  and 
"  Latin  Translations.") 

Old  Testament:  languages  of,  4; 
originally  written  on  rolls,  47; 
threefold  division  of,  46,  52;  early 
circulation  of  books  of,  47;  mar- 
ginal notes  in  text  of,  92. 

Oral  tradition  of  the  gospel,  25,  26. 

Origen:  use  of  word  biblotis  by,  9; 
dictated  to  amanuenses,  41. 

Oxyrhynchus  papyri:  number  and 
kinds  of,  34,  41,  83;  Bible  texts 
among,  83;  and  Westcott  and 
Hort  text,  83. 


Papyri,  Elephantine,  60. 

Papyrus,  material  for  writing,  7,  34, 
35. 

Paul:  sends  for  biblia,  8;  lost  books 
of,  20,  21;  had  a  compendium  of 
Jesus'  teaching,  25;  dictated  let- 
ters, 39-41;  letters  of,  authorita- 
tive Scripture,   53,   54,   exchanged 


162 


Index 


and    collected,    54;    concerned   for 
the  spirit  of  Bible  teaching,  124. 
Pentateuch,    the:    and    Josiah's    law- 
book,   50;    and    Ezra's    law-book, 

SI- 
Poetic    fragments   from    lost   books, 

15-20. 
Polycarp  collects  letters  of  Ignatius, 

53- 

Prophets,  Old  Testament:  written 
on  a  separate  roll,  46;  early  cir- 
culation of,  47,  48. 

Proverbs  and  songs  of  Solomon,  lost 
books,   20. 

Ptolemy  II,  translation  of  Septuagint 
under,  60. 


Q 


Quotations:  from  Bible  in  Church 
Fathers,  80;  to  be  used  with  ex- 
treme care,  82. 


Received  text,  107,  112. 
Recorders,  31. 

Reid,  Whitelaw,  on  the  Bible,  128. 
Roll  form  for  books,  45,  57- 
Roman  Empire,  languages  of,  71. 


Samuel  on  the  kingdom,  a  lost  book 
of,  20. 

Scribes,  royal,  31. 

Septuagint:  story  of,  60-62;  differ- 
ences between  Hebrew  Scriptures 
and,  62-68;  translations  from,  143- 
148. 

Septuagint  translators,  5. 

"  Shepherd  "  of  Hermas,  72. 

Sinaitic  manuscript,  the,  87. 

Skins  as  writing  material,  34,  35. 

Solomon,  Odes  of,  24. 

Song  of  Deborah,  4. 

Song  of  Moses  in  Hebrew  Bible  and 
in  Septuagint,  64. 

Song  of  the  Well,  15. 

Songs  of  Israel,  remains  of  early 
folk,  17-20. 


Temple  in  Egypt,  Jewish,  60. 
Tertullian    on    wilful    corrupters    of 

Scripture,  104. 
Testimonia,  49. 
Textual  criticism:  and  the  Received 

Text,   107;  from  John  Mill  to  the 

present,  1 08-1 14. 
Texiiis  rcceptus,  107,  112. 
Tischendorf:    and   codex   Vaticanus, 

86;  and  codex  Sinaiticus,  87;  and 

textual  criticism,   no. 


Valentinus,  104. 

Variants  in  text  of  the  Bible:  due 
to  compendia,  49;  due  to  versions, 
80;  designedly  introduced,  96;  un- 
intentionally inserted,  97;  due  to 
errors  of  eye  and  ear,  99;  due  to 
misunderstanding  of  sense,  100; 
no  occasion  for  alarm,  102,  114. 

Vaticanus  manscript,  86. 

"  Virgin  "  or  "  young  woman,"  5. 

Von  Dobschuetz  on  the  Bible,  128. 

Vulgate,  the:  preceded  by  Old  Latin 
version,  71;  Bible  of  Western 
Christendom  in  medieval  period, 
73;  work  of  Jerome,  75;  character 
of,  75 ;  influence  of,  on  English 
versions,  76-78;  passages  from, 
76-78;  tribute  to,  by  King  James 
translators,  78;  translations  from, 
148-152. 


W 


Wars  of  Jehovah,  Book  of  the,  14- 

16,  19. 
Washington  codex,  85. 
Well,  Song  of  the,  15. 
Westcott  and  Hort  and  textual  criti 

cism,  no. 
Westcott   and    Hort   text   and   Oxy 

rhynchus  papyri,  83. 
Wetstein,  J.  J.,  and  textual  criticism, 

109. 
Wisdom  of  Sirach,  5,  8,  52. 
Writing:  early  materials  for,  7,  30 

32-35.   45;   early  development  of, 

29ff. 


